


A World of Warcraft

by TheSparklyKitten



Series: Azeroth Hero AU [1]
Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, Warcraft III, World of Warcraft
Genre: AU, Azeroth Hero AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Especially for the Windrunners, F/M, Friendly reminder that there was a literal zombie apocalypse in this game, Introduction to a baby protag, Mention of hearthstones, Mentions of The Second War, Other, Second War sucks, Some Mild Angst, Take my canon character writing with a grain of salt, Tfw your relative moves away and you miss them : C, Warcraft 3 Reign of Chaos spoilers, Windrunner Village before it was wrecked, i'm still learning, lynxes make cute pets, not the card game XD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2020-07-08 07:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19865680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSparklyKitten/pseuds/TheSparklyKitten
Summary: Following the Second War and the Imprisonment of the orcs. A young hunter is born named Allara Sunrunner, with her lynx Lucy by her side she hopes to one day be a protector of her people.  But after a rescue trip gone wrong and an awful night. Allara finds herself on Kalimdor and adventures with the Horde, and finding herself thrown into the turmoil of hardship and loss.Will Allara be able to push through the struggle? Or will she stumble and fall, hopefully luck is on this naive girl's side.





	1. Sunrunner

A cool breeze flowed throughout Windrunner Village. Most of the houses had turned off their lights this night, one of the few with their lights on was planted near the river, it was simple house like the other houses in the village. The owners of this house had the surname Sunrunner, and they were distant cousins of the ones who the village was named after. They were a family of rangers, skilled with any sort of bow, cutting through the woods with pride.

“They’re so adorable,” gushed a young High Elf, she was Verea Glowflower, she had long flowing silvery blond hair soft as silk that glowed in the moonlight, brushing past her shoulders. her golden eyes glowed with the sun's warmth as she entered the household the scent of Silvermoon forest and flowers wafted in the air around her. Today had been the birth of her new half-sibling, well half-siblings. As her mother Reyn Sunrunner had unexpectedly been carrying twins, she had golden/brown hair tied in a bun, the color was similar to the autumn trees in Eversong and sky blue eyes bright as the day gazing to her newborn children. The father of the twins was Merledai Sunrunner, he was a bit bulky for an elf, with broad shoulders and muscles rippling from his arms. He had short-cropped dark red hair and unusual dark blue tinted green eyes.

“They seem to take after your mother more than me,” he chuckled, “they’re lucky to have an amazing mother,” Reyn sighed at her husband, “well they’re lucky to have you as a father, you do have some Windrunner blood in your veins,” that made him subconsciously touch his chipped ear. “I’m one of the few left, hopefully they’re luckier than my parents and siblings,” both mother and daughter sadly flashed back to the Second War, heartless blood red monsters calling themselves Orcs had cut down many of Merledai’s family, as well as Reyn’s first husband Saetlaen Glowflower, love had brought the two grieving elves together. Now their newborn children were proof of their conquest of the past’s scars, and the brightness of the future.

Both twins had identical creamy blonde hair and pink skin, one of them was a girl, and the other was a boy.

“Have you decided on names Reyn?” Merledai asked, he’d help with names but was terrible at that. His Hawkstrider Plucky was one victim of his horrible ability, “Well I was thinking of Taerok for the boy, and Allara for the girl,” Reyn planted a kiss on both of their soft cheeks.

“Those names sound similar,” giggled Verea, she figured that they were named after some relatives, ones who would be remembered as heroes for their sacrifices, suddenly one of them, Allara stirred and clumsily opened her eyes. All three gasped as her eyes were two different colors, her left eye was a soft blue and her right eye was a warm green. Taerok opened his eyes as well and they were the same as his sister, except the left eye was green and the right eye was blue.

“Well that’s one way to tell them apart,” gaped Merledai, for they each had one of his green eyes in a brightened color, “least they have some of your genes, hopefully not your denseness,” Reyn couldn’t help but tease, “hey!” that got Verea to giggle again.

She took a closer observation to her baby half-sister, already she could tell Allara would grow to have a similar likeness to her Windrunner cousins, perhaps she would follow in of their footsteps of being Ranger-General, “Well aren’t you going to amazing aren’t you?” at that the little newborn tried reaching her little hands at her big sister.  
“I’m looking forward to the day you grow as mighty as your family, you and your brother have some big shoes to fill Allara,”


	2. Hunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several years later, the now teenaged Allara does some hunting. And spends time with friends and family  
> -Also no lynxes were harmed in the writing of this chapter

The sunlight was poking through the trees, through a little gap in the trees a little space apart from trees was a little clearing. Lying down on the grass was a large lynx, this one was known as one who attacked travelers, eventually someone asked a hunter in Windrunner Village to remove this threat for a good reward, and there was a teenage hunter about to do that right now.

_Yes! There’s that lynx I heard Dad was asked to get rid of! Well I’m about to beat him to it!_ Allara thought smugly to herself, she overheard some poor guy asking him to kill a lynx and knew she could do the job quicker than her Dad. The large lynx had a very dark brown, almost black coat with only a cream belly. Allara knew at that angle she could fire a good bullet with her crossbow, but it would only hit the lynx’s side and not kill him, and it could have enough energy to fight back with sharp claws and fangs. Allara glanced to her left, a little nearby was a lynx of her own. She was a wiry lynx named Lucy. Russet red fur bright as a scarlet sunset, with a warm cream belly and paws light as milk. With forest green eyes that sharply gaze into it's prey. Allara gave her partner a gesture to get their target’s attention. Lucy then brushed some under foil, causing the big lynx to wake up and start creeping near their direction.

Crossbow in hand, Allara fired an arrow through the lynx’s heart, instantly killing it. She then chirped, the sign for Lucy to collect the kill, “great job Lucy! Couldn’t have done it without you,” the lynx purred as she gave her some pets on the head. Allara reached through her bag and handed Lucy a well earned treat. Smoked salmon with seasoning, she happily chewed the snack. At that moment Allara’s father, Merledai had entered the clearing, and noticed his daughter had did the job.  
“You beat me to killing the lynx?” he had wide, but proud eyes, “yeah, I wanted to show I’m a good marksman just as you!” both hunter and animal puffed their chests with pride. Merledai picked up the lynx’s corpse and inspected it, “this a clean kill, I could skin this to a good pelt,” he commented, “Oooh and I can show it to everyone!” Merledai chuckled, “c’mon kiddo let’s head back home,”

The afternoon had recently arrived when they headed back to Windrunner Village, there was the happy chatter of the elves living there, some of them noticed Merledai and Allara’s return and welcomed them back, “I see that Cherry is growing to be a good hunter like her mother,” one elf with dark brown hair commented, she sighed a little, Lucy seemed extra chipper today and her steps were enthusiastic, _sometimes I wish my life was simple as Lucy, it’s hard when everyone around you expects you to be as great as the one you were named after and your family_. Allara ran a hand through her scarlet red hair, it was the same color as her twin brother Taerok. Her parents told them when they were little they had cream blonde hair like most of their family, but as they got old enough to form memories their hair turned a red color like their father's. The reason how most people called her the nickname Cherry, which she didn’t mind. _Dad was a good hunter but Mom was better at the bow than him, and she was even one of the rangers who protected their homeland, one day I’m going to be a ranger too_ , Allara thought with excitement, _and get to travel all the time!_

“I’m going to the inn to tell the traveler who killed the lynx, and then head home to skin this troublesome thing,” Merledai told her, “you should go play with some of your friends,” at that both Allara and Lucy head to a spot close to the river, where most of the elves their age would hang out. When getting there Allara could already see her brother and some of the elves they knew, she shuddered a bit as the calm river lazily splashed. _I suppose even after years have gone by I’m still scared to be around a stream or river._

Neither Allara or her brother Taerok could ever forget what happened to their older half-sister Verea Glowflower. A little after they were born Verea had three children herself, the father unknown, which was Verea's right to keep a secret. But at the small age of 5 her oldest son Tanven had drowned when the river flooded. Wracked with grief Verea took her other son Ralden and her youngest daughter Velarise to the human city of Lordaeron to live their lives away from their judging people. Sometimes took Allara and Taerok to see their sister and her kids. Making Allara and Taerok some of the few elves who had seen outside Quel'thalas borders in their generation.

“Yo Cherry over here!” Allara could recognize her brother’s voice, “Did you go out today?” asked an apprentice mage named Kreiel Velvetspark, he was considered handsome by many of their female peers. With striking sunny blonde hair,sunset red tips and dazzling blue eyes, he was also fairly sweet and protective. “yeah I caught that lynx attacking travellers,”

“Pssh yeah right,” snorted Talina Dawnlight, she was a fellow hunter, while beautiful in name and body her personality was ugly, “My precious Winter can catch any animal before you,” she was referring to her albino lynx, who seemed nicer than his hunter. Talina had bright blonde hair and yellow eyes.

“Lucy blends in better in the forests, remember that one contest?” spoke Elvia Wildblossom, he wasn’t very popular with others because he changed his pronouns every now and then. but Allara found him someone to relate to, pleasant to be around, and very smart. Elvia had silvery white hair and watery blue eyes.

“Shut up! We all know who’s the best hunter in town, hint it's not the crybaby,” Talina muttered, offending Allara with her harsh words.

“Winter would be better in the Dwarven regions, I remember my big sister telling me once that it’s very snowy in those places, so his white pelt would make him the best hunter there,” Allara pointed out.  
“Woah,” exclaimed everyone in awe, “isn’t my sister the best!” bragged Taerok.

“I’ve never met a dwarf, are they like humans?” asked Seri Silverbrook, she loved stories of paladins, and dreamed of exploring the world, her hair was strawberry blonde and had teal blue eyes. “They’re a bit smaller, have a bit of an thick accent, but they know how to handle brew,” Allara explained, she met some whenever the family visited Lordaeron or Dalaran.

“I do wonder how they hear, humans are said to have smaller ears than us,” Kreiel scratched his chin, “hey Allara, while you were in the human kingdoms did you ever see a glimpse of any orc camps?”

The group went silent, the talk of orcs was a taboo subject among the kids, at least all of them except Kreiel had lost a relative during the Second War, “no, Mom said we shouldn’t go to those places, though they must be sad there,”  
“Sad?” Seri questioned, “what do you mean by sad?!”

“Well do you expect war prisoners to be happy?” Taerok grumbled, he didn't like talking about anything Second War related.

”I heard a rumor that some orcs escaped some camps from my Uncle,” Eliva commented.

“Don’t joke about that!” exclaimed Seri in panic, she was afraid of them.

“I feel bad for them a bit,” sighed Allara, even though she was told dozens of stories about their bloodlust and anger, she could never hate something she never met. _W_ _henever I tell Dad that, he says I have a sweet heart, although I bet he’s disappointed in me because he has a sad look in his eyes._

“You really are a freak!” Talina growled, “those things don’t have pity or feelings, all they do is kill! You’d sell us out if they asked nicely I bet! You and that brute of your brother!”  
“Hey,” Taerok growled, “you went too far Tal,” Eliva glared at the hunter.

“I am not a tr-”  
  
“Cherry! Taerok!” that was their mother Reyn speaking, with that the uneasy tension faded a little and the twins walked back home, _Talina is the worst! She didn’t have to insult my brother as well._ Allara thought angrily, her brother wasn’t exactly popular in the village as well, having trouble keeping his temper in check. _Though she was right on one matter, I am a freak._ She was always bad at socializing, and the littlest of things could set her off.

“What’s the matter,” Reyn asked, noticing her two children had frowns on their faces, “Talina called my sister a traitor because she felt emotions,” Taerok explained, the mother then pulled her two children in a comforting hug.

“Well she’s always been a bit mean, don’t let it bother you,” Reyn sighed, “Merledai finished making that pelt,” that cheered up Allara, she walked in the living room and saw that her dad had made a lovely dark pelt out of the lynx, touching it it felt soft under her small fingers.  
“That’s a fine pelt, I told the traveler my daughter caught the lynx instead of me and he said, ‘you better watch out Mer that girl of yours is going to sell you out of business,’” he chuckled, “it’s yours, feel free to show that to your friends,”  
  


“Talina can’t catch lynxes that good, she always brings bad fur to make pelts out of,” giggled Taerok, he was possibly imagining the smug elf in shock.

“I think I want to show my cousin, er can I borrow Plucky?” Allara was practically pleading with her dad, “alright but don’t stay too long!”

“Got it!”

  
  


With her father’s permission she quickly went to Plucky, he was a pink hawkstrider with some green and blue feathers, an old bird he was. But Plucky was quick in getting to Windrunner Spire. The village had always been in it’s shadow, it was visible at a distance and was the best place to view everything. _Though being the distant cousin of the residents don’t exactly help my popularity,_ Allara sighed. Some envious peers were bitter that Allara shares the same blood as one of the most powerful elven families in Quel’Thalas. She shook the thoughts out of her head and knocked out the door, _I hope my cousin is home today_. The door opened and the elf who opened it was her father's cousin, the Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner.  
  


“Hello Allara, is there something you need?” Sylvanas was known to be very beautiful, she had sunny bright blonde hair soft as silk, and blue eyes with pools of water in them, with a fair pale complexion, “I just wanted to show you the pelt of the lynx I caught,” Allara offered it to her cousin, “it was one that harassed travelers,” Sylvanas carefully examined the dark pelt, every moment felt like eternity to Allara as she waited for a response.  
“This is a very clean kill for someone your age to make,” Sylvanas finally commented, “what method did you use?”  
“Well the lynx was sleeping in the clearing,” Allara began to explain, “I could’ve shot from the side but it wouldn’t have done the job, so I gestured for Lucy here,” she pointed to her lynx, who had sit up with pride, “to get the lynx’s attention, and I fired a shot to the chest,”

“A clever strategy, however make sure to think ahead if the shot didn’t kill the lynx and you had to fight it,” classic Sylvanas, always having criticism to a compliment, “alright,” Allara sighed, the harsh words Talina spat at her still were heavy on her mind.  
“Have one of your peers been bothering you again?” her cousin asked, noticing Allara’s sad expression, “a little,” she was reluctant to explain the whole story but she did, and was expecting to get yelled at, she bowed her head down sadly when finishing explaining.  
“You have a kind heart Allara,” she looked up, “however your peer does have some truth in her word, as a ranger you have to tell friend from foe,”

“I know,” Lucy gave a sad mew and pawed Allara in concern, “I’m fine girl,”

“Why don’t you stay for awhile? I’d like to spend some time with family before I have to head back to my duties,” that was a thing that happened, sometimes her cousin would head home to take some time off for a short bit, then head immediately back to being Ranger-General, it was a confusing process for Allara, “of course!”

  
  
  


Some time had passed and the sun was close to touching the sea water, eventually dipping under the waves and letting the night sky come out.   
“The view is always the best here,” Allara and her brother loved coming to see the sunset atop the spire, “Alleria had the same opinion as you did,” Sylvanas nostalgically commented, Allara could tell she was thinking of her older sister, who sacrificed herself during the Second War and went missing. “You must miss her a lot,” Allara never knew her at all, but she knew that her parents had named her after Alleria, “I do, it’s never easy when you lose family kid,” She thought of Tanven for a moment, her poor nephew.  
“It’s getting late, I better be heading back home, up we go Lucy!” she poked her lynx, who had fallen asleep, Lucy jumped up in surprise but then calmed, with an expression of ‘I hate it when you do that’.  
“Have a safe trip home,” Sylvanas waved, “and don’t listen to that Talina next time,”  
“I won’t!”

  
  


The visit she had with her cousin still was on Allara’s mind when she got back home, luckily she wasn’t that late, but her parents warned her to keep an eye on time next visit.

“How was it?” her brother Taerok asked, they were lying down on their beds waiting for the sweet embrace of slumber, “the visit?” he nodded, “yeah I would’ve gone with you, but I think she’s a fan of you more,”  
“I could say the same with you,” Allara replied, when they were a lot younger their cousin Sylvanas visited a bit more, Allara always felt like she was more fond of her brother, “ok how about she cares about us equally,” that made both of them giggle for awhile.  
“Hey Taerok?”  
“Yeah?”  
“We’ll always be a team right? You,me, and Lucy,” she had to mention her lynx as well, who was already asleep by Allara’s side.

“Of course, nothing is going to keep us apart,”

Or so they thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Allara's nickname Cherry was actually supposed to be her actual name, but I switched to a more elven sounding name and made Cherry her nickname,  
> Lucy the lynx looks like a Ghostclaw Lynx
> 
> -Verea, (Allara and Taerok's half-sister) had 3 children but moved to Loredaron after her oldest died in a flooding accident : C
> 
> -Allara and Taerok are friends with 4 others, Kriel, Talina, Seri, and Elvia   
> -Elvia is genderfluid : )
> 
> -Almost all of them were born at the tail-end or after the Second War, so they all grew up on Horde horror stories.
> 
> -Allara has that child naiveness, Talina is just being mean
> 
> -I had a difficult time writing Sylvanas's character in this chapter, her personality is much more brighter when she was Ranger-General (but we don't really see that in game), so I had to wing it. I'm trying my best 
> 
> Me: I should make the first few chapters light and fluffy before getting sad  
> Also Me: I'm gonna put cliffhangers and ominous words hahahaha
> 
> Why am I like this
> 
> Fun fact: Merledai is the worst at naming things. He named his Hawkstrider Plucky of all names..He is painfully aware of this fact and it's why Reyn picked the names for Allara and Taerok
> 
> Headcannon: It's considered an honor to be named after a departed family member in elven culture. It symbolizes how their lost loved one will live on in them and carry on their legacy.  
> Both of Merledai and Reyn's children were named after great heroes and family, while Taerok is excited to live up to expectations, Allara finds this a burden but she will do her best.
> 
> I really hope you guys are enjoying the story, I'm still learning to write stories and I wanna make sure my stories can make someone happy :)  
> Thank you for reading and have a great day!


	3. Dalaran

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allara and her dad go on a trade trip to Dalaran...however something bad happens when they return home

“Alright kids it’s time for-”  
“Nope!” and Taerok was instantly out the door. Their poor dad was upset at Taerok’s distaste. A couple times a year Merledai would go to several towns and cities to sell the pelts he skinned. However he always went outside Quel’Thalas borders, and traded in human cities, such as Dalaran, Lordaeron, and even went to Kul Tiras once. That was their favorite trip, but Taerok was starting to get tired of selling pelts.

“Taerok you get back here this instant!” her brother sighed and sat on one of the chairs, “why don’t you want to come this time?” his green eyes appeared not angry, but curious.

“We’ve been to Dalaran about a _dozen_ times,” Allara’s lynx Lucy, who was curled beside her began to roll her eyes, “and I want to go somewhere else,”  
“Like?” Allara questioned before her dad could, giving pleading looks for her brother to spill the beans, “like Silvermoon,”  
“Silvermoon?” Merledai raised an eyebrow, “what for?” Taerok nervously shuffled his feet, “do you want to try to join the Farstriders?”

Allara’s ears went up in surprise when Taerok nodded his head yes, “Wait really?” she glanced to her dad, then back to her brother, “aren’t we too young to join?”  
“It depends on the skill one has to become a Farstrider,” all three turned their heads as Reyn walked into the room, “and I believe you and your brother have the skills,”  
“I’d like to wait a bit longer,” Allara shuffled her hands, she thought back to last year when she killed the large dark lynx before her dad. “I’m not ready yet,”  
“That’s okay sis, you don’t have to join yet because I want to,” Taerok got up from his seat to give his sister a hug, “you have fun on the trip with dad okay?”  
“Okay!” she beamed, “but at least help us load the cart,” Merledai added in.

Allara kept giggling as her brother groaned in despair, not even he could escape the struggle of loading the pelts into carts.

  
  


“So you’re finally going to become a ranger,” before Taerok went to Silvermoon and Allara went with her dad to Dalaran, they decided to visit their cousin Sylvanas and tell her about their plans.

“Yep!” Taerok puffed out his chest in pride, “watch out! You might be looking at the future Ranger General here!”  
“It takes a lot of skill to become a Ranger General Taerok,” Sylvanas gave an amused smile. “But isn’t it dangerous?” Allara questioned, she petted Lucy a bit to ease some of her nerves.

“It is a dangerous job, but the safety of Quel’Thalas and it’s people are what makes being a ranger important,” Allara felt a surge of excitement at the words. As much as she loved adventure, protecting others was more important than any treasure.

“Do you have any tips Sylvanas?” Taerok asked one last question before they left, “I’m a bit nervous if I’ll be accepted or not,”  
“Keep your eyes and senses focused, and you’ll be able to see any attack,” her sharp blue eyes were full of happiness in that moment, “safe travels you two,”  
“Bye! Maybe we’ll run into each other in Silvermoon!” Taerok was the first to say goodbye and ran off, Lucy then sped after her brother.

“Bye! I’ll tell you about the trip when I get back!” Allara waved, she then caught up to her brother and was excited for her trip to Dalaran.

But her plans when she got back would not turn out as she hoped.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dalaran was always a busy city, there were humans, elves, and other species Allara saw wandering around. Adventurers going places, shopkeepers showing off all their wares to sell, and activity both normal and questionable. “Do I have to stay with you trading?” Allara asked her father, she wanted to explore a little. “Make sure you know where the cart is,” they had set up their ‘shop’ near a wishing well, already some adventurers had begun lining up for some warm pelts to wear. With permission to wander, Allara and Lucy walked over to the well, “Maybe I should toss a coin in,” she looked at her lynx. Lucy gave a nod in agreement, “alright,” she took out a simple copper coin, and scribbled on it _If I had a coin every time I got dragged into my father’s trips, I would have enough to drown this well in them -Allara Sunrunner_ _,_ after writing the little message she flipped the coin into the well, hoping her dad would at least get fortune from this trip.

“I see someone has done the tradition of writing a message on a coin, then tossing it, usually most royals do this,” Allara saw a young human male, possibly the same age as her was standing nearby. His hair was thick golden brown, that looked to be tangled and messy. As if he neglected to brush his hair and let it be a curled mess. There was a little bit of hair under his chin, that was the same dark color as his bushy eyebrows. The eyes were a dull bluish grey color, but were full of enthusiasm. He wore thick brown robes, an unusual choice for most mages. _Oh look I found the human version of you Kreiel_ , Allara humorously thought, “Well have you done this tradition as well sir?”

“Named Terasthil, Teras for short, and yeah I’ve done this, but with a silver coin,” the mage replied, “Nice meeting you Teras, I’m Allara Sunrunner, though most call me Cherry, and this is my lynx Lucy,” she introduced her and her lynx, Lucy gave a friendly wave to Teras.  
“She’s really cute,” he gushed, “can I pet her?”  
“Yeah go for it, she loves being pet,” at that Teras grinned and began petting the lynx, who was enjoying the affection, “you live here in Dalaran?” “Yeah, I don’t really get out much, I have overprotective guardians,”  
“Guardians? Do you mean parents?” Allara was confused at that, “nah can’t remember them, I’ve been part of the Kirin Tor my whole life and a few of them are kind of like parents to me,” she felt bad for Teras, but at least he had some family in his life to look up to. “sorry to hear that, I can relate to that, I lost my nephew Tanven a few years ago, can barely remember what he looked like without a picture,”  
“Tanven as in Tanven Glowflower?” Teras asked, that surprised her, “wait do you know my sister Verea?” Allara was now completely focused into the conversation, how could Teras know about Tanven?

“Er kind of, she sometimes goes to Dalaran and she brings her kids Ralden and Velarise, they talk about him sometimes,” talk about one crazy coincidence, Allara thought surprisingly. “Allara it’s time to go!” she heard her father call out, “Got to go, I’ll look you up next time I’m visiting Teras,” “It was nice meeting you Cherry!” she heard him wave as her and Lucy ran over to Merledai.  
  


“I hope you two enjoyed the sights, we gotta head back now, I was able to sell all of our pelts, Reyn will enjoy this!” Allara enjoyed seeing her father so happy, he always had this childlike glee on his face. “Yeah, Mom is going to love this,” she smiled, excited to get back.

However Allara wished they had stayed a bit longer, when getting back.

  
  


After getting back in a few short days, Allara and Lucy could tell something was off, an uneasy feeling was in the air. There were words of dread being spoken from the elves, “hmm it’s a bit somber today, I’ll check with the neighbors,” Merledai dismounted off of Plucky, the Hawkstrider seemed to sigh in relief at that. He walked over to the inn, where most townsfolk would chatter, Allara noticed that some of her peers were nervously waiting at her house door.

“What’s up guys?” Allara walked over to them, Lucy was sniffing the air cautiously, the lynx could sense something was going on. “Did you hear anything from Dalaran? or see anything weird?” questioned Elvia, she had a very serious look drawn on her face, “other than meeting the human version of Kreiel, not really,” Seri giggled at the comment, but a glare from Talina silenced her, “Don’t tell me you don’t know about the plague?” Lucy rolled her eyes, she wasn’t taking it seriously until Talina’s lynx Winter walked up to Lucy and seemed to explain. She then had a very worried look on her face and pawed fearfully to Allara.  
  


“Plague? Is there a sickness going around?” Allara questioned, she wanted to believe it was a joke but if Lucy believe it then it was serious. “We heard from some passing rangers the other day that..oh sweet Sunwell don’t make me say it,” Kreiel was reluctant to spit the words out. “Burning Legions back, and there’s a plague going around in the human kingdoms that turn them undead,” once Elvia said that Allara felt fear creep up her body, she started to tremble.  
“This is a joke right?” Allara shivered, “my sister is in the human kingdoms! Her kids are as well!” Talina had a worried look, “the other day when we got the news, I don’t know what being possesed your mother but she took a horse and was going to Lordaeron, a few folks are worried,” an anger bubbled in Allara, “it’s not funny!” she almost attacked Talina in that moment, but Talina’s lynx Winter protectively stood in front his owner. She felt a bit afraid of the determined icy gaze Winter had to protect his owner.

“Tal isn’t lying!” all of them yelled, “what about Taerok?!” oh please don’t be dead don’t be dead what am I going to do what- she couldn’t think properly at the moment, Allara could barely remember what happened next, but Kreiel and Seri had held her as she went through a panic attack. Merledai had come back at that moment and brought her into the house, so she could get some rest until her mind cleared. She remembered that before they left, Taerok had gone to Silvermoon and wouldn’t be back for awhile, she foolishly thought that he would be safe there at the time. Later at night her father woke her up suddenly, Lucy had jumped out of bed in surprise was nearly attacked him before realizing who it was.

“We’re going to find Reyn,” Merledai’s words were short but brief, “pack all of your things, I already packed most of our coin,” confused Allara packed a few things in her backpack, the crossbow she used, some family photos and clothes. Lucy had been giving a blue scarf to wear around her neck, when they got outside to untie Plucky, Allara remembered one of Merledai’s friends tried stopping him.

“You are crazy!”, the friend had been worried for Merledai, and perhaps should’ve tried with more force, “I won’t lose Reyn, not after what happened to my siblings,” but Merledai was stubborn as stone, “You’ll put Allara in danger!” the friend was desperate to change his mind. “She’s a skilled hunter like me, we’ll be fine,” “You’d be safer staying put!”, Merledai was getting angrier with each word spoken. “I’m not going to be a sitting duck for anyone, worry about yourself since it’ll save lives this time,”

Allara didn’t know this but at the time her father was playing dirty to get his friend to back off, by bringing up some old wounds that the friend carried. Merledai had won the argument and him and Allara were now off to find Reyn. Before any undead or demon could get her first.   
But they were too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Merledai makes a good living off hunting and selling pelts. But Quel'Thalas is always warm year-round so he makes better money selling to the much colder human lands..and he likes to bring his kids along so they get cultural experience
> 
> -Allara and Taerok are the kind of kids who would tell their favorite relative everything 
> 
> -Dalaran is pretty, also tossing a coin into a well is a rich person tradition in Dalaran
> 
> -Allara literally compares someone she met to one of her friends because they're mages with similar hair colors lmao
> 
> -Merledai watch out the plot is coming to get you oh god he has airpods in oh god he can't hear us


	4. Last Laugh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allara and her father's dangerous quest to find her mother..it doesn't end well for one of them.

“Are we there yet?” groaned Allara, it had been at least a day since they had begun their search for Reyn Sunrunner, there was no sign of her yet, or anything really.

“We’re currently in the human kingdoms, if we were to go to the nearest city or town it would be Stratholme,” Merledai explain, Lucy just sighed giving an annoyed meow, “well it would, I heard that it’s burned down,” that got Allara a bit spooked by how her father casually explained a big city was on fire, but a whine from Lucy cleared her thoughts, “Lucy are your paws tired?” Allara asked her lynx, Lucy gave tired nod, so she picked up her companion, “here take a break,” she placed Lucy on her back, the lynx wasn’t as heavy as the backpack she was carrying, suddenly the bushes near them seemed to shuffle.

“My nose,” Allara pinched her nose quickly, the air was filled with a decaying rot, it almost made her sick, Merledai quickly pulled out his gun and pointed towards the bush, “who’s there?!” when he said that something gruesome emerged from the undergrowth.

Allara let out a shriek of horror at the being. It was a human, specifically an undead monster of a human, half of its face was melted away, exposing it’s skull, bones poked through skin and fluid was leaking through, it began to groan and crawl towards them. Merledai began firing rapid shots until the grotesque thing stopped moving, “oh titans, it’s real the undead walk oh my goodness we’re going to die,” she mumbled, “least it’s killable...again,” Merledai grumbled, apparently unaffected by the fact a literal zombie just walked out of a bush.

“There might be more, hop on Plucky, I’ll take the reigns, we’re speeding up,” Allara quickly obeyed her father’s command, Lucy clung onto her sides in fear, the lynx was very terrified of what they just witnessed, _How many of those things exist?!_ Allara’s thoughts were still shaken from the encounter, _I don’t want to turn into one of them..but..what if Mom turned into one of them.._ She prayed that her fears wouldn’t come true.

  
  


“Hey Dad? How come humans like the light so much?” they had encountered more gruesome undead, and had to put them down, Allara killed a few herself, sometimes an arrow to the heart didn’t work so Lucy would leap and tear undead to bits. She had vomited a couple of times at the rotting stench and sight at the decaying bodies. 

“I guess a sort of comfort in lives, a holy fortune that smites those evil, I think most people who believe in it use it as an excuse to kill anyone they don’t like, wouldn’t shut up about it back in the Second War,” Merledai explained, Allara found other culture’s practices and traditions very interesting, but there were always zealots who took it too far.

“Was the Second War like this?” her father took a while to respond, “well I didn’t fight in many battles, my job was to gather food for everyone, Reyn was a pretty amazing archer during that time, she could look like an angel in that battlefield,” Lucy mewed and pawed him, “I hope she’s alright,”   
“No undead could take Mom down!” Allara chuckled, she looked up at the now darkening sky, “it’s getting really late though,”

“Agreed,” Merledai had stopped Plucky near a small overlook, “let’s set up camp,”

It didn’t take long to prepare camp, Merledai had just set up some tarps and traps, they didn’t dare set a fire to attract unwanted visitors, Lucy and Plucky were on high alert for any intruders.

“I hope Sylvanas is okay,” Allara sighed, if the undead come to Quel’Thalas, she’ll have to fight on the front line, “I’m not that close with my cousin anymore, we don’t really talk as much since she’s Ranger-General now, but she’s one of the best, she’ll be alright,” Merledai was sharpening his bow, and cleaning it of blood, “why do the demons keep trying to take over Azeroth? I hope we don’t have to fight orcs as well,”

“Enough about things related to the Second War,” Merledai snapped in a low voice, it was unusual for him to speak in an angered voice. She must’ve accidentally pushed his buttons, which made her feel guilt.

“I’m sor-”  
There was a rattle, a shuffle in the bushes, Lucy started sniffing the air, and growled, Allara caught a now familiar rotten scent.

“Undead!” Merledai quickly fired his bow at the bush, but then several undead, too many popped out, “Run!” quickly mounting on Plucky they tried sprinting through the trees, but skeletons and ghouls and other hideous creatures were from every tree, father and daughter worked to fire at the chasing enemies, but one creature clawed Plucky’s leg. The Hawkstrider faltered and that was their chance, several undead then grabbed on the Hawkstrider, causing the bird to trip and send Merledai, Allara, and Lucy flying through the air, “Plucky no!” Allara cried out, she saw the old bird fall to the ground lifelessly.

They had no time to grieve, Allara nudged her father, who was staring across a river they landed nearby, “Dad?” what Allara didn’t know is that Merledai was staring into the eyes of a freshly raised undead. The creature had an eerie grey shade of skin that tightly clung to bone. Sickly yellow clumps of hair stuck to her head. The clothes were torn and matted with blood and dirt. Merledai recognized who the creature once was, a tear falling down his cheek.

The undead had been Reyn, and they were going to be next.

“Dad we gotta go,” Allara’s voice snapped Merledai out of his trance, he looked at his daughter with sadness, then pulled something from his bag, it was a stone with a blue spiral in the center, “take this and use it,” he said, barely holding back his pain.

“A hearthstone?” Allara questioned, it glowed under her touch, “Wait isn’t this Mom’s?” she knew that her mother had a hearthstone, but was always told to never touch it or else.

“Use this and get you and Lucy out of here,” Merledai told her, “it’ll take you away from the undead,” she was hesitant, “but what about you? I can’t leave you here and what about Mo-” “I’ll be fine! Nothing can stop our family,” Merledai couldn’t keep his tears away, a part of Allara knew that her father was lying then, but with a breaking heart she used the stone, “I promise I’ll come back for you,” the stone glowed around the two, and Allara and Lucy were no longer there.

Merledai readied his bow at Reyn, he couldn’t save her but he would put her body to rest, he fired the first shot but Reyn heard, she pulled out a bow of her own and the two began firing at each other. The undead who had killed Plucky caught up to him and Merledai had to fight both the undead and Reyn, he then leapt forward across the river and used his last energy to strike Reyn, however a flash of metal caught his chest, a sharp pain rippled through his body and he fell to the ground.  
“That was a sorrow attempt fool,” an undead voice, the one of his killer spoke. Merledai looked up, and he almost gasped who it was. The undead who had struck his chest was none other than prince Arthas Menethil, he heard rumors that the prince was the one attacking the undead but that had been apparently months ago. “what..did you do to Reyn..” Merledai choked out, blood was dripping from his mouth.

“Her? She had already been a victim of the plague by the time I raised her,” it almost scared Merledai about how nonchalant the prince had been of raising someone’s dead body, “There was another elf with you, your daughter perhaps?”  
“You’ll never find her, that hearthstone took them...away from any of you...butcher…” his life was close to ending, Merledai knew that the prince would resurrect his corpse like he did with Reyn, but he would get the last laugh as a final act of rebellion, “If you mean Quel’Thalas, you’re quite wrong as they are our next target, any elf in our path will be slaughtered and raised,” Merledai’s eyes widened, he thought of his son and everyone back at the village, they weren’t safe after all, “I didn’t say it was Quel...Thalas….that hearthstone is thousands..old..one day you’ll be stopped..and I bet she’ll be the one who...does the job…” those were Merledai’s last words, he finally fell to the ground with his prideful eyes glazed open. However his spirit would not rest peacefully, one of the necromancers chanted a spell and Merledai’s body lifted up screaming.   
  
Risen again, his reddish locks were turned into a sickly ghost white color, wispy as spider silk. Sharp lifeless chips of ice were the eyes, an unnatural blue color. The skin began to lose color and turn into a pale grey shade. Whatever spirit and freedom Merledai had in life was gone, locked away under the obeying force that all who served the Lich King had. 

  
Just another obedient soldier added into the Scourge army.  
  
But not the last kin of Allara's who would suffer from the unstoppable undead war machine.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merledai!? Merledai?!  
> Omg he dead   
> (Death by Frostmourne)
> 
> Fun fact: Hearthstones exist in this AU! They are a magic stone that is enchanted to an area (like how it's used in game), they last for a very long time and are extremely hard to break! It's a very rare stone for adventurers, most who have one obtained it as a family heirloom
> 
> -Also where did Allara gooooo???


	5. Kalimdor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allara and Lucy end up in a strange forest in a strange place... and meet a strange elf that tells her strange things

Allara had shortly blacked out after using the Hearthstone, the last thoughts on the elf’s mind were of worry for her father. When she awoke the soft red fur of Lucy was curled next to her, but her body felt too tired to stand up on it’s own. With little energy she tried observing her surroundings, the sky was a soft blanketing blue, with large violet tinted trees rocketing forward, the grass was a cool deep green color, it looked straight out of a storybook.

“Where am I?” Allara questioned in a groggy voice, she then noticed the figure that was sitting nearby.  
“The forests of Ashenvale little Quel’dorei,” Lucy had pushed Allara to a sitting position, leaning on her companion she got a good look at the voice’s owner, she was an elf but not like the ones Allara grew up with. This elf had light purple skin, her ears were touching her sides and not pointed up like Allara’s, and she had glowing amber eyes that sadly reminded Allara of her mother, and her hair was a deep violet color.

“What kind of elf are you?” Allara awed the strange person, “you look like royalty,” _is she an angel? I hope I didn’t die from the Hearthstone, that would be an embarrassing tombstone._

“I am a kaldorei, a night elf, my name is Kyanne Songriver,” she calmly introduced herself, “I felt that Elune was telling me to wander this part of the woods for some reason, but then I had found your lynx guarding your unconscious body with a hearthstone in hand, so I was keeping guard,”

“Thank you for that,” Allara felt lucky to meet such a kind soul, she turned to Lucy, “and thanks to you Lucy,” said lynx puffed up her chest with pride, but instead of a mew she heard,

“You’re welcome!” that got rid of Allara’s tiredness like a bullet, she felt her body jump into the air and she blurted “did you just speak?!”, Lucy looked at her confused, but then her teal eyes widened, “did you just understand me?!”, well she could scratch off this as a freaky fever dream then.

“Ah you must be a hunter then young one, at a certain ‘level’, a hunter can sometimes gain the ability to understand their pet and other sorts of animals, usually it’s caused by years of friendship or experiencing a ‘trauma’ together,” Kyanne explained cooly, both lynx and elf looked at the night elf with wonder, did she know everything? But the word of ‘trauma’ reminded Allara that she had abandoned her father to monstrous undead.

“You can say trauma again,” Allara sighed, “I haven’t really introduced myself, I am Allara Sunrunner, though everyone calls me Cherry,” she then explained the recent events to Kyanne, the disappearance of her mother, the plague and demons, and that awful night, at some point she had hugged Kyanne because talking about those events was bringing her to tears.

“You’ve gone through a lot Cherry,” Kyanne sighed, she stroked some the younger elf’s red locks, “At such a young age too,” Lucy then spoke up, “Hey uh, do you know where the nearest settlement is? Any human town or something?”

“That would be in the Eastern Kingdoms,” Kyanne chuckled, oh Elune protect these innocent kids, “The Hearthstone you used brought you to Kalimdor,”  
“Kalim-what?!” exclaimed Allara, she didn’t know much about the continent, but she did know that her ancestors were from there, “oh wait that makes sense,”

“How does it make sense?” Lucy tilted her head, her tufted ears were flopped like a rabbit’s pair, “I remember in one of my binge reads that the Kaldorei were from Kalimdor, I mean their race kind of sounds like the land, like they were named after it,” explained Allara, “that makes sense, is that true?” both of them looked at Kyanne for answer.  
“I will neither confirm or deny your statement,” was her reply, “wait you can understand me too?” questioned Lucy, the night elf nodded, “yes, as a druid I am able to speak with nature, and shapeshift into various creatures,” to prove her statement Kyanne used some sort of power and she shifted her form into a purple cat.  
“That is the coolest thing I have ever seen,” Allara was grinning from ear to ear, her sadness from earlier melted away, “but uh..what should I do?” Kyanne shifted to her regular form to responded.

“A few weeks ago, a group from the Eastern Kingdoms called ‘the Horde’ had arrived, they’ve mostly been in places like the Barrens, I haven’t interacted but only watched from afar, the ‘orcs’ as their people are called, seem to be working together with some of the tauren in attacking the centaur, I’m sure they would allow you some sanctuary,”

“The Horde?!” exclaimed both hunter and pet, it couldn’t be the same Horde that worked with the Legion, but they had been told all of their lives to not trust the Horde, orcs had killed some of Allara’s family for goodness sake!

“Are you sure?” Allara trusted Kyanne’s judgement, but the old lessons she was told were repeating in her mind, “I had been observing them as a habit, I can feel that Elune is telling me to set you on this path, they are just finding a place for themselves, and I’m sure you shall as well with them,” with her words echoing in her mind Allara decided to follow that direction, “before I go, Who is Elune again?”

“It’s who my people believe in, next time we meet I’ll tell you more about her,” Kyanne responded, “I’ll guide you to the edge of the forest,”

  
  


“Well that interesting, I wonder if the Horde has their own version of Taerok, Kreiel, Talina, Elvia, and Seri,” Lucy meowed curiously. Kyanne had shifted to a ‘travel form’ as she called it, which was a deer that had carried Allara to the edge of Ashenvale and pointed where she could find the Horde.

“Possibly, but I doubt it,” Allara responded, “I hope everyone is alright at home, I feel like I abandoned them,” Lucy looked up at her friend with comforting eyes, “you’re just one hunter in training, everyone in Quel’Thalas will pull through, besides they’ve got a Ranger-General who shares the same blood as the best elf in Windrunner Village,”

“You always know how to cheer me up, even without words,” Allara smiled, they had been talking nonstop the entire way, “smell anything that could lead us in the right way?”

“I think I smell some faint sweat,” Lucy had her nose high in the air, tracking any smell, “and I think...blood?” that got them to quickly sprint faster, following the trail, and found a unusual sight.

There were a few creatures surrounding what looked to be an orc, the creatures were half-human and half-horse, perhaps the centaur that Kyanne told them about. Allara got a good look at the orc. A male with rippling muscles and dark green skin, warm brown eyes, judging by his outfit and bow, he was a hunter, and a large grey wolf was at his side.

“We gotta help him out,” Allara whispered to her lynx, Lucy was unsure, “what if this is a bad orc?” the young elf argued back, “we won’t know unless we help,”

Allara had her crossbow out and shot at the centaur’s legs, before they could turn around Lucy leaped into the air and struck at their necks. Some of them flopped dead on the ground while a few tougher ones started to charge. Allara quickly barreled out of the way, before she could fire another shot the orc had fired arrows from his bow, and his wolf companion finished the job. When all the centaur were killed, the orc calmly walked over to Allara. She felt intimidated by the large orc, who could snap her neck if he wanted to.

“H-hello,” she stuttered in a wimpy accent, trying to cough out orcish words, “I’m n-not an enemy,” the orc seemed to find her nervousness funny, as he chuckled a bit.

“I wouldn’t hurt a strong archer,” the orc said in common, she was surprised the orc knew common, but she guessed they would’ve picked it up from time in the prison camps, “my name is Go’shar,”

“Nice to meet you,” Allara smiled, she was hesitant to say her name, better play it safe and use her nickname, “names Cherry,”

“I am curious how an elf got to Kalimdor,” the orc raised an eyebrow, Allar-using my nickname now, Cherry held up the hearthstone, “I used this,”

“How do you know orcish?” a grizzled voice spoke, Cherry looked around and saw it was Go’shar’s wolf who asked the question she was surprised to understand the being but then remembered Kyanne told her that she’d be able to speak to other creatures, “I love learning about cultures, er I found a few books on the orcs and their language and I read them,”

“We were looking for the Horde,” Lucy blurted out, Cherry glared at the lynx, “What?! We were doing that!”  
“You wish to join?” Go’shar gave a confused look, “er..yes! We heard the Horde was travelling in Kalimdor and I wanted to join, I love adventure,” Cherry didn’t completely lie, but then again she wasn’t being entirely honest as well.  
“You are welcome to join me back to camp,” the orc hunter kindly offered, “anyone who selflessly jumps into battle to defend someone is a friend to the Warchief, he’d probably like to meet you,”

Cherry and Lucy smiled, following Go’shar and Fang to the place that they’d call the Horde, and where both hunter and pet would find themselves actually joining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allara: Jeez I know that night elf told me to look for the Horde but I can't trust a group that was the aggressor in the first and second war!  
> Also Allara: I'm gonna use my nickname instead of my real name to this scary orc! I'm a genius!  
> Lucy: *facepalms in the background*
> 
> Also if you've read my work on DA NO I cannot go writing a story without adding a talking cat!


	6. The Horde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alla- I mean "Cherry" and Lucy meet the Horde

The plains felt hot and sunny. But Cherry was used to warm weather in Quel’Thalas. On their way to the Horde camp, a lion tried making a meal out of the orc and elf, but got killed by their bows before their pets could attack. Fang and Lucy were carrying the beast back with them to the camp, “Best to impress the Warchief by showing your kill,” he pointed out.

As Go’shar said they were getting closer to the Horde camp. Cherry got a bit nervous, what if the orcs would kill her on sight? Or what if they sent her away? Cherry had spent some nights in the wild, but most of the time it was with either her family or friends. Who knows what sort of deadly monsters lurked in Kalimdor. She’d hope in worst-case scenario the orcs would kill her than dying a painful death to a predator.

  
  


Eventually they got to the Horde camp. Cherry flinched noticing how there were some trolls mixed in the group. _Why did it have to be trolls_ , some of Quel'Thalas unfriendly neighbors were very deadly trolls. But there were some cowlike creatures as well, which Go’shar explained were the tauren. Immediately when going into camp, several members started to chatter and gossip about her arrival.

“Is dat an elf?” she heard a young troll question and point to her, “yah, looks pretty small,” another added, “I could crush er in a fight mon,” some of the orcs chatted as well, “Who is she?”.

“How did she get here?” another questioned, one of the older orcs noticed the kill they had brought to camp, “this young one looks to be a strong hunter for her age,”

“The lynx looks a bit tiny,” a tauren commented, Lucy hissed at the one who commented that, the tauren flinched a bit at the lynx’s glare.  
“Calm down Lucy,” Cherry whispered to her pet, she grumbled in response, Go’shar spoke up to address the growing crowd, “at ease, Cherry here is a friend,” he then casually lifted up the giant lion they brought to camp, “who helped me take down this beast and a few centaur,”

Several Horde members chatted more after that statement, her elven ears picked up most of the conversations, even the ones in languages she couldn’t translate, but she could tell that it was mostly good things they were saying. Cherry noticed that a few children had wormed their way through the crowd and were staring at her with wide, beady eyes.

“Hello,” she waved to the kids, a few blinked, surprised she spoke orcish, the rest just waved back and waddled up to her, they started to ask questions in adorable voices.

“Why are your ears so long?”  
“What kind of foods do you eat?”  
“Can I pet your lynx?”  
“Are you a ranger?” Go’shar spoke up, “okay, okay, leave poor Cherry alone, she has to speak with the Warchief first,”  
“Awww,” some of the kids whined in disappointment, “I’ll be quick and then answer your questions,” that brought the smile back on their faces, they happily skipped past, going off to play some games.

“They’re so cute,” Cherry gushed, “even if they’re Horde children?” Go’shar’s pet, Fang, spoke up after a while of silence. The high elf shook her head, “all children are innocent from the start, none are born out of malice or hate, and all should be treated with love and kindness,” she sadly noted, remembering Tanven. Go’shar didn’t push the subject, instead he continued to lead her towards a large tent. _This must be where the Warchief is_ , she realized. Lucy placed a comforting tail over her legs, trying to ease her nerves. Go’shar opened the tent and led her through it.

“Warchief,” the orc Go’shar was speaking to was very intimidating to Cherry. He had pale green skin like the other orcs, but bulky rippling muscles that broadened his shoulders, his armor stood tall and powerful, he had a hammer equipped to his belt, that could probably crush her in one blow, he had dark black hair in braids, and two short pointed tusks. The only friendly thing about him.

the Warchief was his warm blue eyes, Cherry found herself sweating into a puddle as the orc glanced at her, Lucy fluffed her fur in fear and hid behind the elf.

“Who is this?” the Warchief spoke in a powerful, strong voice, Go’shar didn’t hesitate as he responded, “this is Cherry, she helped me when a patrol of centaur had surrounded me, and also took down a powerful lion, which will feed the bellies of the children,”.

“Greetings Cherry,” the Warchief spoke to her, she felt her heart pounding like crazy at that moment, “I am Thrall, the Warchief of the Horde,”

“Hi..” she weakly smiled, “I’m Cherry, future ranger of Quel’Thalas,” she pointed to Lucy, “and this is my lynx Lucy,”

“future?” one of Thrall’s guards raised an eyebrow, “I’m still in training,” she awkwardly looked down, fiddling with her hands.

“This brave elf, although young, saved my life from a centaur patrol without hesitation,” Go’shar proudly told Thrall,” Cherry blushed, “I wouldn’t say I helped that much,” he continued, “while on our way back, she and her lynx, very strong for her small size,” Lucy growled at being called small, “I am not that tiny,” she heard her grumble in annoyance, “helped to take down a lion, I can see that they will make fine members of the Horde,”

“So you wish to join the Horde?” Thrall gazed sharply into Cherry’s eyes, it took her awhile to respond, “er yes..I’m lost on Kalimdor, and I need somewhere to go,” then she sadly added, “I don’t know if I can get to my family or if they’re even alive,”

Thrall paused for a moment, then responded, “it would be a waste to send away a strong hunter,” he mumbled, then turning his gaze to Go’shar, “go give our new member a tour of the camp and a spot to rest,” Cherry blinked for a few moments in disbelief, “wait what?”  
“What?!” Lucy repeated, twitching her whiskers, Thrall gave a low chuckle, “welcome to the Horde, Cherry and Lucy,”

  
  


The first night with the Horde was a bit awkward. Especially at the end of the day, when everyone was winding down and feasting on various foods and prey they caught, including the large lion Cherry caught.

“So elfmon, how’d ya kill such a large beast,” a troll that was a fellow hunter curiously questioned, “it was mostly Lucy and Go’shar’s wolf Fang that did most of the work, they were able to pin down the lion so I could shoot an arrow through its skull,”

The troll blinked, and then chuckled, “ah ya got ta have more confidence in ya elfmon!” he then took another bite of his roasted boar, “da reason ya took down dat lion was because of both you and ya pet,”

“You’re right,” she realized, beside her Lucy rolled her eyes, “about time she noticed,”

“I heard that young lynx!” she huffed, the troll hunter continued to chuckle, “names Ziyo,” Cherry smiled and offered her hand out, he blinked confusingly at her, “handshake, you shake each others hands as a sign of greeting!”

The rest of that dinner was spent talking to her new friend Ziyo. It was very quick to get over her fear of trolls when there was a friendly one giving hunter advice and had a very cute red raptor named Scarfang “Dis a name of powah elfmon!” Ziyo argued when she said the word cute.

Cherry quickly noted that most of the Horde members were not cuddly people when sleeping, as most folk were tucked under their sleeping mats and keeping distance. Ziyo teasingly offered to be a cuddle buddy, but she had just met the troll, and his tusks looked too sharp. He was probably being funny as he quickly said a goodnight and went to his sleeping spot.

“I think you made the Horde 100% better by joining,” Lucy teased, the high elf and her lynx were cuddling under a bed of stars, Cherry wondered if her father’s siblings were looking down in disgust as she was being friendly with the same race that killed them.

“Mom would ground me until the end of time if she found out I had dinner with a troll, she hates them,” Cherry frowned, Lucy huffed and laid her tail over Cherry’s hip, “well you can tell Reyn not every troll is like the Amani ones, sides Ziyo is a Darkspear,”

“True,” they both chuckled, Cherry sighed, “I miss mom and dad, and Taerok and Verea, and her kids, and Sl-” Lucy leaned up to give her a sloppy lynx kiss on the cheek, “go to sleep Chers, it’ll take more than a bunch of bonewalkers or demons to take down any of your family,” sighing, Cherry smiled and tried to get some rest.

Hopefully everyone was fine in Quel’thalas, maybe her dad found mom and they were on their way to find her, she hoped they wouldn’t get into a fight with any of her new friends. They seemed nicer than the stories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for now Allara is going to be referred as Cherry and will be with the Horde for a bit. Is this a permanent change? No. Will Allara be called Cherry for the rest of the fic? No. Will she stay with the Horde? hmm you'll have to read to find out.
> 
> I find it funny that Allara was so intimated by Thrall at first but in reality he is this dork.  
> Allara you naive fool..she's going to have to find out the truth eventually


	7. Barrens Brawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Horde travels through the Barrens...with complications

The next morning was like trading season in Dalaran. Everyone was busy working and running around packing tents and various equipment, Cherry wasn’t used to the daily cycle so she tagged along with her new friend Ziyo and some of his Darkspear friends. Who helped guide her along in the early rush. When finished packing up camp everyone mounted their kodos and raptors and wolves. Ziyo’s raptor Scarfang was big enough for both the small elf and fairly large troll to mount, with a little bit of room for Lucy to wiggle onto Cherry’s lap, sparing her from tiredly pacing next to her owner like most of the hunter pets.

“By the Sunwell what a rush,” Lucy commented as the Horde began travelling again, “yeah and I thought pounds of animal fur was the heaviest thing I carried,” Cherry’s arms felt sore from lifting and packing things, so they just weakly held onto Scarfang’s saddle.

“Sh, I’m tryin ta hear da Warchief’s conversation elfmon,” Ziyo hushed in an excited voice, Scarfang was close to the wolf that Thrall was riding, Cherry and Lucy stopped talking and tried to overhear what was so important.

“Warchief! We’ve been trudging through this wasteland for a week with nothing but centaurs and pig-men that crush easily! We need real enemies to fight!” a battle-hungry grunt was saying, Cherry thought it was a bold action, _I’d probably be exiled if I demanded in that tone to King Anasterian!..well I’ve never met him_ , she felt an ache in her chest thinking of home, and her people’s King. What was the King doing about the undead? The potential return of the Legion?

“Yes, the boredom and beating sun has put all of us on edge, but we must trudge on, all shall be made clear once we reach the Oracle,” Thrall replied to the grunt.

“Oracle?” Cherry turned to Ziyo, “eh I weren’t part o’ da Horde when da Warchief decided ta look for dis Oracle, but da ones that were told mah dat dis Oracle can see da future, and destiny, all dat voodoo,”

“Lame,” Lucy snorted, Cherry gave the lynx a small kick,”Hey!” she huffed, glaring at the elf, “don’t be rude,”

A small distant, but familiar sound caught her ears, she perked them up and was able to identify what it was. “Ringing?” Cherry blinked, it wasn’t a calm ‘morning’ ring that some of the human towns she had visited with her dad chimed, it was more of a frantic panicking ring, as if there was something bad everyone had to be aware of now.

“Look it’s the Warsong clan!” she heard Go’shar gasp, “and they’re battling humans!” her eyes went wide, looking over Ziyo’s large shoulders, there was a large brawl between orcs and humans, just like in the war stories, Cherry frowned.  
“Lok’tar warriors! Hellscream needs help!” Thrall cried out a battle cry, and the Horde rushed into battle. Ziyo however, had Scarfang clip the edges of the battlefield, and was rescuing any injured members that needed medical attention.

Cherry quickly dismounted from the raptor and joined the medical crew in applying bandages or other medicine to injured warriors. She didn’t want to get caught up in a conflict. _I hope nobody saw me, that would be bad_. She paled, she was still unsure if sticking with the Horde was a good idea. But her only major chance of survival in the unknown and deadly Kalimdor. But if the humans were here..she could perhaps join up..But they could be bad humans, and perhaps not friendly towards elves.

“Wretched orcs! How dare you follow us to this land!” she heard a human roar in anger, then an orcish roar followed, “Save your breath human! You’ll need it when I start tearing off your limbs!” she flinched at the anger and bloodlust in the latter voice, as if it found amusement in the fight.

“That’s the voice of Grommash Hellscream,” she heard Go’shar (who had his arm badly cut from a sword and getting it treated), commented, “my Warchief,”  
“I hope his tearing of limbs doesn’t apply to elves,” Cherry gulped, her legs shaking at the image of a large bulky orc, “it doesn’t apply to Horde members,” Go’shar replied, “looks like it’ll be done soon,”  
  


The human settlement had been badly broken and most of the humans had scampered off on their horses, the Horde roared victoriously and began treating their injuries while having a quick snack.

Cherry was able to see Grommash Hellscream, and he was more threatening and bulkier than Thrall, when the orc saw her among the group, he snarled, “who is this?”  
“A new member, saved my hide too,” Go’shar reported to his leader, “she’s a good hunter and speaks Orcish too!”  
“Is that so?” the orc’s red glare was giving Cherry the chills, “yep,” she squeaked out, Ziyo moved a few feet away from her as the Warchief of the Warsong Clan was grilling her, the traitor.

Grommash then turned to Thrall, “surely you have not fallen on hard times to recruit a puny elf in your ranks,” Cherry growled, puny?! She was used to jabs from Talina, but no way was some stranger gonna call her puny!

“Well I’m part of the Horde now! You’re gonna have to deal with it!" she snapped, "And by the way, I didn’t see you during the welcome party! If you’re part of the Horde you could at least stick with the group!”. A tense silence filled the air, and Cherry clamped her jaws as she realized she had snapped at the Warsong Warchief. Who was about twice her size. And could snap her neck without trying. But Grommash just gave a loud hearty chuckle.  
“This one seems to have teeth! I like her,” Lucy's fur stuck up and she huffed, “hey what about me?! I’m the one with sharper teeth,” Cherry chuckled. Poor Lucy, always left out of the conversation.  
  


  
  


“What was that battle about?” Thrall turned to Grommash, “and how the hell did the humans get here?” the Horde was making a base in the ruins of the human fortress.

“Same way we did little brother,” Cherry blinked, _they were siblings?_ But shook her head, probably just called each other that, “Apparently a girl named Proudmoore leads them,” the conversation was tuned out as Cherry recognized the spoken name.

She knew that person, Jaina Proudmoore of the Kirin Tor, her mind flashed back to when first meeting.

It was with her brother Taerok and cousin Sylvanas, they were visiting Dalaran and Sylvanas introduced the mage to the two. Jaina was apparently a good friend of her cousin, and she thought that the mage was really cool. As Cherry herself couldn’t really use magic, except a few spells that made her attacks stronger.

A few scouts Thrall had sent reported that there were a few human encampments up north, but also a goblin laboratory near a base, the plan was to get to the goblin laboratory and obtain zeppelins, without crossing paths with the humans. Currently the Horde was still building their base and collecting materials, preparing to make the trip.

“I hope the goblins aren’t hostile,” an orc who still had an injured shoulder groaned, “I can’t join in another battle,”

Cherry herself had never met any goblins, but she heard some traveller stories. They were very smart and inventors, but loved money or anything that could make money. Suddenly she got an idea.

“What if we went and got a bunch of things that could be valuable to the goblins, which could make them agree to build zeppelins,” she blurted, noticing how some members stared, “just a thought,”

“That is a clever idea,” Thrall spoke behind her, “I’d like you and a group of hunters to go and collect animal pelts, which we can sell to the goblins,”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lucy chirped, despite the Warchief unable to understand her, “you got this,”

After given her orders, she managed to organize a small group, with about five people in it. There was her and Ziyo in the group, the Darkspear troll insisted he be added, “I can skin da pelts of da beasts, elfmon ya gots ta take yer favorite Darkspear along with ya,”

Go’shar also joined the group as well, although Cherry guessed the orc wanted to catch up with his clan, she was unsure why he volunteered for pelt collecting.

Then there were two tauren brothers, Narro and Haru Wildwater, Narro was good at healing, so he joined, while Haru was a shaman that enjoyed being in a smaller group. They both were a dark brown color and looked the exact same. Except Narro’s eyes were a bright leafy green and Haru’s eyes were a calm blue color.

Cherry mostly had Go’shar take the lead, as the old orc had the most experience, however she was good at marking their location and where they were in the fields (The Barrens as some members called them). Ziyo was trying to map out the area, while Scarfang and Fang carried some of the pelts they caught.

“Nothing but thick furred animals in this weather,” complained Haru Wildwater, who was lifting some of the lion pelts, “I’m drowning in sweat!”  
“Same,” his brother Narro added, Cherry guesses it was because the tauren had a fur coat, the heat was affecting them more. Lucy had complained about the heat as well, water breaks were more often than Cherry would’ve liked.

“Ya tink dis be enough pelts elfmon?” Ziyo pointed to the haul, there were a few lion pelts, zhevra pelts, and a couple raptor pelts (Scarfang vocally complained about that one).

“Maybe we should grab a few more,” Cherry suggested.

The entire group groaned.

“Wait you guys hear that?” Lucy perked her ears up, “I think we’re too close to a human settlement,” Ziyo scanned the area, “right dere!”

A bit west of them was one of the human camps, but the Warsong clan was there as well, with Grom leading them into battle.

“Didn’t Thrall tell us not to pick fights with humans?” Haru pointed out, “what is the Warsong doing?”  
Go’shar then let a battle cry, startling the entire group, as the orc had been silent most of the time. With Fang by his side he started to charge into battle as well. Cherry was shocked at the bloodlust in Go’shar’s eyes, without thinking she quickly grabbed Go’shar, preventing his charge.

“Get off!” Go’shar snapped, shoving Cherry aside, leaving her to hit the ground. The rest of the group then reacted, and all three of them grabbed Go’shar, while Scarfang and Lucy pinned Fang.

“Calm down!” Narro commanded, “what’s gotten into you?”.

“The call of battle!” Go’shar was clearly acting wrong, his eyes seemed to turn a reddish color, filled with hunger for blood.

“He gone crazy!” Ziyo complained, he was grabbing one of Go’shar’s arms, which kept flailing, “just let him go,”  
“No way!” Cherry lifted herself back up the ground, and faced Go’shar, “Our job is to collect pelts so we can get zeppelins, which gets us out of this place much easier, do you want members to die from conflict that could be avoided?”  
“It is an honor to die in battle,” Go’shar snarled back, the words made her blood boil.  
“It’s stupid! There is no honor in pointless conflict! You should know since you’re someone who drank the blood of a demon because some shady guy handed it over! What did you think was gonna happen when you drank some strange and demonic punch?!” that got Go’shar to calm down, somehow. He stared at the elf with wide eyes, absorbing in her rant.

“Low blow Cherry, low blow,” Go’shar’s wolf Fang commented, “not helping!” Lucy added while she was still trying to pin down the large wolf.

“How did you know about the demon blood?” Go’shar spoke, his voice seeming more calmer and clear, Haru, Narro, and Ziyo then let him go, the orc still standing frozen as a statue.

“I asked an orc,” she fiddled with her hands nervously, “I was told that orcs were a red color, not green, when asking the orc responded that there had been red orcs because they were given demon blood, and that the fel taint made them green,”

“It is a sad tale, what happened to our people,” Go’shar sighed, the moment would have been silent were it not for the Warsong clan and their boisterous yelling and slicing humans in the background. “Let us continue,” the group silently trudged on quietly, the mood for conversation was killed.

Cherry felt a little guilty for yelling at Go’shar. Fang was right, it was a low blow to bring up the demon blood. A part of her knew that most of the blame fell on the Legion for offering that false promise, tricking the orcs into a lifetime of misery.

_But they still destroyed their own world,_ a dark voice in her head sneered, _they killed your people and family. You should join the humans, and kill the demonic orcs._ She batted the sound away. The group was currently taking a small break at the river, Haru had fished up a couple trout and salmon to eat, and Ziyo was the one who cooked it into tasty snacks. She wasn’t very hungry so Lucy gobbled up her share of the meal.

“Y’all right elfmon?” Ziyo asked in concern, noticing her silence, “was I too harsh?” she replied, “with Go’shar?”  
“In mah humble opinion, Go’shar deserved it for tossing you aside for tryin ta help,” the troll’s voice grew in a more softer, comforting tone, “ya didn’t deserve dat,”  
“Thanks,” Cherry smiled, feeling the anxiety in her chest leave her, “no problem,”  
  


A harsh splash caught their ears, “help!” Haru was thrashing helplessly in the river, the violent waves blocked vision of who was trying to pull the large tauren down, but Narro didn’t care and leapt into the water to save his brother.

“I smell reptile!” Lucy growled, a harsh hiss was heard, as the creature attacking Haru emerged from the river, the beast had large green scales, a long snout with teeth poking out of it, cold and hungry yellow eyes.

“Crocolisk!” Scarfang was the first to react verbally, Cherry didn’t need the response to start shooting the creature with arrows. But it was too slow as the crocolisk soon had swam up to Cherry.

“Yikes!” the crocolisk’s tail whipped around and hit her leg, causing her to lose balance and fall into the murky lair of the beast. She found herself struggling to keep the creature’s teeth away from her, barely holding the jaw with her hands.  
“Begone foul creature!” Go’shar leapt into the air and gave the crocolisk a flying tackle, which pried Cherry free and able to climb back onto shore, Ziyo then threw a spear in the crocolisk’s chest, killing the beast at last.

A few moments later there was silence, then the collective sighs of relief at there being no deaths or horrible injuries from the battle.

“Well that happened,” Haru was the first to comment, “anyone up for roasted croc?”

  
  
  
  


The Warchief was rather impressed when the party came back with a hefty amount of animal pelts, including the crocolisk’s skin. “There is even some extra furs for beds,” commented some of the peons who were carrying the furs. The pelts had been enough in the goblin’s eyes to start producing zeppelins for the Horde. Cherry felt pride at her success today, now there was no need for conflict.

Well there was a loose end, a rather bloodthirsty one.

“What’s gotten into you Grom?!” Thrall was furious with the Warsong clan’s actions, Ouch, it was pretty awkward to watch the two muscular orcs get into a screaming match. Cherry flinched when seeing the red rage flicker in Grom’s eyes, similar to how Go’shar behave when seeing his clan in action. _I’m starting to think Ashenvale is much safer than the short fused and bloodthirsty orcs,_ by the end of the argument the Warsong clan was ordered to build a settlement in the forests. The rest of the Horde would continue their journey to find the Oracle, the young hunter was curious of the next step once they had found the Oracle.

“Make sure to stay safe young hunter,” Go’shar told her before they had left, “alrighty, and watch your temper,” she warned, “you’re better than some cursed blood, just take a couple breaths and step out if needed,”

Go’shar approved of the advice, and then Cherry and Lucy entered the zeppelin.

Only for Lucy to get motion sickness and began to puke.

The poor lynx.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the Barrens. They were my favorite place in my early WoW days when I didn't care about levelling or collecting loot or pvp. I'd just run around with Lucy and hunt stuff and pretend to be a hunter in the wild. But for now our protag has to deal with the daily grind.
> 
> Also Grommash Hellscream makes an appearance! He's a pretty interesting character in lore, shame he had some demon blood making him angry for the rest of his life.   
> Thrall: Ok Horde let's try to get through the Barrens without conflict  
> Grom: *attacks the humans*  
> Thrall: are you kidding me-
> 
> “It’s stupid! There is no honor in pointless conflict!"- Allara @ Go'shar for wanting to die in battle  
> I might mention this later in the future, but Allara has a honor mindset simillar to the Frostwolves. She believes it's treating others the way you want to be treated, showing respect and not belittling your allies. This event with witnessing the effects of the demon blood will have effects in later sequels.
> 
> Lucy has motion sickness from riding a vehicle for the first time: oof
> 
> I really liked writing this chapter


	8. Wind Rider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cherry is quickly boosted to level 60 so she can get a flying mount!  
> Kidding..but there's wyverns..wind riders? Whatever the flying mount the Horde uses is called!

After several hours of flying on the zeppelin, Cherry started to get motion sickness as well.

“I told you these metal-*hurl*-ships were evil!” Lucy had sickly exclaimed. They were part of the unlucky minority who got sick from the long flight.

_I wish I had a dragonhawk..._ the hunter was more homesick than motion sick. She was very envious that Talina had a dragonhawk of her own to fly around on. Cleanly gliding through the air in swift strokes like a majestic dragon. She loved her family's hawkstriders (and her cousin’s horses), but there was a desire to fly that burned in the hunter’s chest.

She did not know that today was the day that quest would be completed, and it was worth the hours of hurling she had to endure to get there.

The Horde was camped underneath one of the mountains of Stonetalon, there wasn’t much to do while waiting for the scouts to return.

“I hate being cooped up,” Lucy’s tail was twitching as she tried to avoid the blazing sun. “Also some of the hunter pets have zero sense of humor! Especially that one belonging to that sneaky orc who keeps stealing extra rations-”  
  


Cherry slowly turned her out as she absorbed the details of Stonetalon mountains. The temperature always felt hot and humid like the Barrens, but a lot more cooler and less dry. It was mostly rocky red terrain, everywhere you looked, there were always tall mountains surrounding the area.

“Ey elfmon!” Ziyo sprinted over to Cherry, with Scarfang in tow, “Da scouts are back,”  
“Finally!” Lucy dramatically lifted herself in the air before lying back down on the scorching rocks, the elf sighed and picked up the lynx. Carrying her all the way back to the camp.

“Warchief, we scouted the peaks as ordered, the humans made their fortifications all the way up to the summit,” she managed to catch an orc scout report to Thrall.

“If they’re looking for a fight they’ve had plenty of opportunities,” Thrall was glancing at the zeppelin the scouts had used to travel it. There were large dents to the hull, and claw marks that belonged to the talons of gryphons.

“Yikes,” Lucy took one look at the damage and her fur spiked up, “I don’t want to mess with the Alliance,”

“Me neither,” Cherry nodded her head in agreement, _technically my kind is part of the Alliance, but if I went and joined them then that would make the the Horde’s enemy..but the Horde can be nice..politics are complicated._

The stomping of hooves caused Cherry to look up and see a large group of tauren had entered the Horde camp. The largest began speaking to Thrall, who recognized him.

“It’s Cairne! Our High Chieftain!” she overheard Haru eagerly whisper to his brother. Norro’s eyes shone with pride at that moment.

“It is good to see you Cairne, but what are you doing here?” Thrall asked the High Chieftain, “To help repay our blood debt to you, however those pinkskins look to be trouble,”

“That one?” one of the tauren in the group pointed to Cherry, who shook her head, “wrong pinkskin, my pointed ears and glowing eyes indicate that I’m a high elf, the short eared pinkskins are humans,”

  
  


There was an awkward silence, as Thrall and Cairne gave her strange looks, “Nevermind! Pretend I’m not here!” she awkwardly shifted into the back of the crowd, her pointed ears growing pink with embarrassment.

Thrall cleared his throat, “they’ve been getting in our way in reaching the Oracle,”

“The Oracle’s wisdom belongs to everyone, perhaps if we befriend the wyverns in the area they shall help us on our journey,” Cairne suggested, Cherry frowned, not recognizing the name. _What was a wyvern?_

She’d find out soon, the Horde was already starting to prepare their journey, back to work she and Lucy went.

“A wyvern is a large creature,” Norro was explaining to Cherry. Both them and his brother Haru were with two other orcs in their group. “They have fur on them, similar to Lucy but they have large wings on the sides of their forearms,” the mental image made Cherry think of wyverns as large, furry bat monsters with his bad explanation.

“You’ll know one when you see one,” Haru snorted, “keep your eyes peeled, there’s harpies in this area as well,”

Cherry groaned, Haru had to remind them that there were harpies in the area. She felt bad for any wyverns that got caught by the “winged monsters” as Haru called them. She had never seen a harpy herself. Hopefully it wasn’t as deadly like the crocolisk that tried eating her two weeks ago.

“Shhh,” one of the orcs, the dark green skinned rouge J’ar lifted a hand to the air. “Hear that?” The group then tried focusing on the sounds around them, Cherry’s sensitive hearing caught several growls and shrieks.

“It sounds like birds and cats,” she commented, her lynx gave a nodding growl. “I do smell something avian, but with a dark odor to it,” Lucy unsheathed her claws and started to head for the direction of the noise.

“Let’s check it out,” Norro began to lead the way, “I think we found some wyverns...and harpies,”

  
  


Norro was correct.

There was a group of harpies that was harassing two young wyvern, Cherry gasped at the large wounds the male had compared to the female. Without hesitation she whistled the signal for Lucy to attack, and began firing poisoned arrows on the harpies.

The harpies shrieked when they were hit, and turned their attention from the wyverns to the group, sending gusts of wind at them.

“Spirits of earth, heed my call and pluck these winged monsters out of the sky,” Haru chanted, earthy rocks emerged from the ground and hit the harpies. One of the rocks hit a harpy on the back, there was cracking sound before the creature fell to the ground dead.

“One down!” the other orc in the party, who’s name Cherry did not know shouted in joy.

The rest of the harpies however, were not happy that one of their own was killed and began increasing their attacks. They swooped in and began assaulting the group with their claws, Cherry screamed in pain as talons shredded her skin. Red waves of blood started to pour from her arms, she wasn’t able to aim so she tried clawing back at the harpies.

“Get away from her!” Lucy leapt at the attacking harpie, her claws digging into its side. She clamped her jaws onto the creatures neck and it snapped from the pressure, giving Cherry room to breathe and attempt to cover her wounds.

“Thank you Lucy,” she gasped, desperately stopping her blood pouring out of the wounds with thick bandaged cloth, “it’s what I do,” the lynx replied, a smile on her face despite the harpie’s blood dripping down her chin.

There were still too many harpies for the others to handle, the rogue J’ar was too injured to continue fighting. So the tauren brothers desperately tried to defend their comrade from the harpie’s attacks. Suddenly the wyverns let out angry growls and flew at the harpies, easily tearing them to shreds and chasing off the rest. The exhausted male laid back on the ground while the female let out a triumphant roar.

Cherry was in awe at the brave creature. The female wyvern was a pale tawny color, with a large mane of golden brown fur flowing down her spine. Two short ears poked out of her mane, one of them having a tear on the side. She had her beautiful pelt covered with bright dark spots that made her look like an exotic wonder. Her tail was sharp and pointed similar to a amphibian, with dark grey colors making it shine like a stone. Her eyes were the most beautiful sky blue she had seen.

“You’re beautiful,” she cooed, slowly walking to the magnificent wyvern. She let Cherry run her fingers through her golden brown mane, the fur felt like a mountain of softness. She could bury herself in the layers of fluffy brown fur.

“I’ve never seen a wyvern, you’re so beautiful,” Cherry kept repeating, the female wyvern seemed to enjoy the attention. Lucy rolled her eyes and bristled her reddish fur at the attention she was giving the strange creature.

“Such a beautiful tawny wyvern, can I call you Tawney?” Cherry stared into the eyes of the wyvern. Her blue gaze was full of admiration and respect, slowly forming a connection between animal and hunter.

“I like it,” the wyvern Tawney spoke at last, “Tawney has a nice ring to it,” she rolled her tongue in a happy manner.

“Well it looks like Cherry has tamed a wyvern,” the elf heard Haru mutter to J’ar and the other orc.

“The deal was whoever tamed a wyvern gets to ride it home,” the other orc replied in an envious manner. Cherry placed a hand on Tawney’s furry backside, feeling the smooth spotted pelt, “can I?” she asked, not needing to confirm what she was asking.

Tawney nodded, and laid down so Cherry could carefully sit on her back. She made sure to scoop up Lucy and place the lynx in her lap, giving her an affectionate scratch behind the ears to make up forgiving their new friend too much attention. 

With hunter and pet carefully seated, Tawney extended and stretched her wings to the sky. Lifting herself off the ground and flying in steady paces.

“This is amazing!” Cherry was high off the ground by now, the rest of her party looking very small now. She could see much of Stonetalon Mountains by now, the high peaks barely touching the back of the clouds. The sky was turning from it’s sky blue to a honey yellow color, the sun starting to dip behind the layer of mountain and rock.

Tawney gave a triumphant cry and took off, Cherry carefully placed her hands around the wyverns sides in order to not fall off. Poor Lucy was desperately clinging to the elf with her unsheathed claws digging into her leggings, it didn’t hurt as much as harpy claws so she let her be.

With her newly tamed wyvern Tawney, Cherry and Lucy took off back to the Horde camp to make a saddle for easier riding. Their journey had made them a new friend and it had barely even begun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww both Cherrry and Lucy are sick :C  
> Talina has a Dragonhawk confirmed 
> 
> Cairne makes an appearance! At least he'll be around for a while (until-)
> 
> -Harpies suck :C  
> -Cherry gets a tawny colored wyvern and names her Tawney!  
> (yes I am aware its a typo, but it's how Cherry spells her name and let's be real fictional characters make writing errors as well)
> 
> Cherry's hunter skills are shone like in-game as she clearly uses Tame Pet on Tawney  
> Also it was cool writing the flying scene (Poor Lucy in this chapter though)


	9. Oracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cherry's experience of trying to find the Oracle ends up with her making two very good friends!

fter getting back to the Horde camp, Cherry got a saddle for easier riding on Tawney. Her new wyvern, and _way_ more cooler than Talina’s frilly dragonhawk that was barely a decade old. What made her most happy was how amazed Ziyo was at her taming the wyvern.

“It’s rare dat a mount chooses it’s ownah, ya have somedin special if ya was able to tame a wyvern,” the troll had spoken in a soothing voice that made Cherry melt on the inside. She couldn’t help but be flustered around the troll all evening.

Sleeping would’ve been much easier were it not for Lucy’s teasing over what happened with Ziyo, the elf felt like her ears were about to fall off from how red they were turning.

But after that little incident the Horde had finally reached the cavern where the supposed Oracle was. Many members were hyping up this mystery person, did he have time travelling powers? Was this Oracle a being of supreme power? Will finding the Oracle grant whatever we wish for? Questions that would now be answered soon.

“Alright brethren, we’re going into two groups,” one of the higher members was announcing to everyone else, “those who are going with Cairne move to the right, and those going with Thrall are going to the left,” Cherry was unsure which side to go on, and Lucy wasn’t giving any helpful advice on what to do.

“Sir which side should I go on?” Cherry decided to ask one of the members that was organizing the wayward members into either group. “The left,” the orc pointed to side where Thrall was giving orders to the group members, she thanked the orc and joined the group.

  
“Now that everyone is in a group, let’s move out!” Thrall stated, signalling for the groups to start moving. _I wish I had brought Tawney with me_ , the elf’s feet felt sore on the cavern’s rocky floor, shame I had to leave her at the camp.

Nobody she was close to was in her group, Cairne’s group had gone another path when they had hit a forked road. Cherry was starting to feel rather lonely, but luckily Lucy was still at her side.

“Man, I wonder if there’s going to be a large room full of gold, with a giant gem on the middle,” Lucy was beginning to ramble, “and if you touch it, a trap triggers and the room fills with water and you have to find a way out or else you’ll drown!”

“Don’t jynx us,” Cherry paled at the thought of drowning, “and you know I hate any mention of water, or drowning,” Lucy’s ears fell flat on her head. “Oh right, I’m real sorry Chers,” the lynx tapped her tail comfortingly on Cherry’s legs, “we’ll be fine,”.

A large roar brought both of their senses on alert, several creatures began to attack the group. “Stay together!” Thrall ordered while he was battling a rather large creature, Cherry stuck close to some other orc hunters. Their wolves were doing fine on their own, one got pinned down and Lucy sped over to rescue the canine. However once the creature was off the wolf, Lucy got an angry growl for her efforts, “rude,” the lynx mumbled.

  
One creature resembling a large bat was in a fight with Cherry. She kept firing arrows to bring the creature down, but a large screech nearly broke her eardrums. Cherry winced and brought her hands to cover her ears. “I need backup!” she alerted her companions, but the orc hunters ignored her, “help!”.

  
“Oh shut up you whiny weakling!” one orc hunter shoved Cherry to the side, but her feet didn’t touch the ground. Screaming, Cherry felt herself falling, “Cherry!” she heard Lucy yell, and felt her lynx desperately grabbing onto her arms. If the lynx had let go, Cherry would’ve fallen deep into an unknown level of the cavern.  
“I’m slipping!” she hopelessly yelled, knowing the orcs around her would do nothing, but still hoped at least their wolves would be more kinder. However one wolf that was locked in battle had accidentally hit Lucy, causing the lynx to lose her grip and slip.

“Ahhh!” now both of them began to fall deeper into the cave. The sight of the Horde growing more distant.

“Hang on Lucy!” Cherry quickly grabbed her lynx, holding her tightly to her chest, “I’ll protect you!” she prayed that at least she’d survive the fall. _I’m going to die, this is it, I die because nobody helped,_ her thoughts felt oddly calm, as if she accepted her death, _I guess my family was right about-_

_**SPLASH** _

Her fall was broken by water. Cherry opened her eyes to see she was underwater, then there was a sudden pop and she fell on the ground, but her and Lucy survived.

“Are you okay?” a human was standing above her, _have I met you?_. The human looked around her age, as she stared more at his golden features, realization hit her.

“Teras?!” she gasped, quickly getting back on her soggy feet, judging by the lack of water and how the cave was now soaked, Teras must’ve created a water bubble to break her fall.

“Oh joy, she knows you,” an unfamiliar female voice spoke, “an old friend?”  
“You can say that Selene,” the elf turned to see the owner of the strange voice. It was a human girl the same age as Teras. 

Selene was quite unusually beautiful in Cherry’s eyes. Selene’s skin was a light cream color that looked like sunlight shining on a beach shore. Her hair was a dull reddish brown color the same way leaves in the autumn were in Quel’Thalas. She was wearing a knight’s armor, polished and the metal gleaming as a battle ready angel. There were a few scars on her face and arms that gave her a warrior’s beauty. “Scars were a symbol of battle,” an old veteran in Loredaron once told Cherry when she and her brother asked the man about the oddly shaped cut on his arm. Selene’s eyes were glistening a brown color that were like spring oak trees in Tirisfal.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Cherry found her voice again, “I’m Cherry, and this is Lucy,” she made sure to introduce her lynx. Lucy was staring around the cavern walls, trying to look for an exit.

“I’m so glad you’re alive,” Teras spoke, sadness dripping in his voice, “the same can’t be said for a lot of folks now,”  
“What happened?” Cherry’s homesickness flared up, “well we can explain later,” Selene pointed to an opened crack in the walls, “let’s move before any monster can make a snack out of us,” The elf nodded, and the three of them began moving, hoping to find either an exit or someone else.

“So,” Teras spoke up, there was a long pause of silence when they started moving where nobody said a word, “how did you get to Kalimdor?” Cherry held out the hearthstone, “my dad gave it to me, we were looking for my mom when undead attacked, he gave me this and said he’d find me,” Selene and Teras gave each other glances, Cherry couldn’t decipher the silent conversation, _wonder what’s going on in the Eastern Kingdoms now._

“You don’t know anything else?” Selene questioned, a heavy tone in her words, “just undead roaming around?” Cherry nodded, “yeah, I’m glad you guys know the news, I’m really worried about my friends and family in Quel’Thalas!”  
“That’s nice,” the human warrior looked away, so the elf couldn’t catch the expression in her eyes.

“They’re acting strange,” Lucy commented, the lynx was glaring at the two humans, “I think they’re lying,”

“You’re paranoid,” Cherry retorted, Selene and Teras gave her a funny look. “Oh I was just talking to Lucy, I can understand her,”

“Man that’s lucky, I wish I could understand animals,” Teras quipped, “it’s amazing how smart some creatures are,”  
“Not for us if it’s the undead that are smart creatures,” Selene growled, “I hate those corpse walkers,” the warrior grumbled rather angry words that Cherry wish she didn’t hear.

“Selene’s from Stratholme,” Teras whispered in the elf’s ear at a volume Selene couldn’t hear. “Don’t bring it up, she’s still grieving for her family,” The elf was confused by his statement, but then remembered several rumors that involved Stratholme being turned into an burning graveyard of undead on the road.  
Cherry nodded, she couldn’t imagine how she’d felt if she lost her parents, cousins, or even her brother. Perhaps she’d wait a little longer to ask about home, at least not in Selene’s earshot.

“Can you ask them why the humans are here?” Lucy turned to her friend, the look in her eyes telling her to ask right now, “I’m asking for Scarfang’s sake,” Cherry nodded.

“I told you guys how I got to Kalimdor, mind answering how you two got here?” it was Selene who responded, Teras had a depressed look in his teal eyes and looked away. “Well the undead invaded Dalaran, Loredaron, and other places, so we had to travel somewhere else to survive,” the news surprised both the elf and lynx. Were the undead so smart they could plan and succeed invasions on the humans?

“They must’ve not gotten my people then,” Cherry realized, “we do have a lot of barriers and my cousin is a really good Ranger-General,” her human companions were silent for a bit, “oh yeah forgot to mention that,” Teras nervously chuckled.

“Cousin?” Selene questioned, giving an observing stare at Cherry, “you’re related to Sylvanas Windrunner?”  
“Yup!” the elf nodded, “she’s my dad’s cousin, and I’m gonna be a ranger great as her one day! My brother has a head start however,” she giggled. “It’s always fun to have a sibling rivalry, can’t wait to see them again,”

“Yeah,” Selene’s voice was depressed again, the elf must’ve accidentally reminded her of her family. “They’ll be happy to see you again,” the group went silence once more. Only focusing on defeating monsters crossing their paths and not getting lost in the dark tunnels.  
  


“Wait!” Lucy yowled, all three members stopped at the sudden sound, “I smell something,” the lynx lifted her nose in the air and began sniffing the breeze, “smells like the Horde went through this path,”  
  
“Awesome!” Cherry squealed, “we’re close to finding the others!”

“What did your lynx say?” Teras raised a finger in question, “she smells the Horde, we got separated from them,” both humans shared a nervous look. _Yikes I forgot to tell them, I hope the friendship isn’t over because of this,_ Cherry remembered all the fighting and struggles that happened between the opposite groups.  
“Ok I’m impressed you’re friends with the Horde,” Selene spoke first, “I hope they extend the same peacefulness with us, not in a mood to fight battle-trained orcs,”

“Agreed,” Teras nodded, “let’s keep on moving, and hope we don’t accidentally walk into a fight,”

  
  


They walked into a fight.

With surprise, surprise, the humans and orcs.

“You jinxed us,” Selene smacked Teras in the shoulder.  
“Ow!” cried the mage, Cherry just awkwardly stood behind the two, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

“Stop!” a man in a cloak who came out of nowhere stood between the Alliance and Horde, “there will be no bloodshed today,” Cherry didn’t recognized the cloaked person, but she could tell it was a human.

“Wait a moment, you’re no Oracle,” she heard Thrall speak, the Warchief seemed to recognize the cloaked figure, “you’re the prophet!”

“This guy again?,” Teras whispered, “he tried to warn Antonidas about the undead and told us to leave our lands,” the mage paused, tears glistening in his eyes, “we should’ve listened,”

“Antonidas is one of the strongest human mages right?” Cherry asked Selene, the human nodded, “yes, he was one of Teras’s idols,”. She then spoke in a much sadder voice, “he died when the unde-, I mean the Scourge invaded Dalaran,” Cherry’s ears fell down in shock. She knew that Antonidas one a powerful mage, if he was defeated, was there any hope for all of them?

  
  


“You are correct, Son of Durotan,” the Prophet spoke to Thrall, “I have brought you all here for a reason, the Burning Legion has returned,”

Those who weren’t aware of the new gasped, a wave of fear was present among everyone. “Only by working together can they be defeated,”  
“Unite with them?” Cherry heard a golden blonde woman exclaimed, she recognized her as Jaina Proudmoore, “are you mad?!” her comment slightly offended the elf.

“It’s not that hard!” Cherry blurted out, she stopped talking once realizing how both members of the Alliance and Horde were staring at her, “uh..forget I said anything,” she blushed in embarrassment.

“Cherry! You’re alive!” she heard Ziyo cry out, the young troll was pushing his way through the front of the crowd, “I thought ya were gone when I heard what happened!” he had gotten in front of Cherry and wrapped her in a tight hug, she smiled and hugged back.

“Well luckily I ran into Teras and Selene, they helped keep me alive,” she gestured to the two humans, who were just awkwardly staring back at the crowd.

“I am glad you all are alright,” Jaina addressed the trio, _all of us?_. “But we will not work with the Horde,”

“You fools! Loredaron has already fallen!” The Prophet yelled in anger, upset at the mage’s stubbornness, “and in Ashenvale, Hellscream has already been corrupted by the demons,” the cloaked man turned to Thrall, “if you do not act soon, your people will be lost forever to the demons,” Thrall declared something about "never letting that happen again" but Cherry couldn't decipher much of the Orcish words.

“To defeat the demons, and the undead, the Alliance and Horde, must work together, or else all will be lost,” the Prophet spoke those final words before disappearing in a cloud of dust.

Silence followed his departure.

  
  
  
  


After the Prophet left, both parties exited the cavern and made a makeshift camp near the entrance to discuss what happened. Neither group wanted to work together, but if they didn’t, then they both would lose.

“So let me get this straight,” Cherry had stuck with Selene and Teras for the rest of the trip, with Ziyo cautiously eyeing the trio. She could see the concern for her in his eyes, and made sure to give him reassuring smiles to calm him down. It was now evening, and most of the debate was over, and Cherry was enjoying bonding time with her new friends.

“You,” Selene pointed to Teras, then Cherry, “and you had ran into each other before?” the mage nodded, “I mostly know Cherry from her half-nephew and niece, Ralden and Velarise spend time with me when they visit Dalaran,”

“He saw me do the tradition of tossing a coin in the fountain,” Cherry was stroking Tawney’s fur, happy to see her wyvern after a long day of exploring caverns, “my cousin told me she did that once, so I decided to do the same thing next time I visited,”

“Ah, explains a lot,” Selene took a sip of her drink, it was some cold goat milk that was still cool thanks to the power of frost mages, “why don’t we all share a bit of our family lives now,” she suggested, “Cherry you go first,”.

“Happy to!” the elf placed Lucy on her lap, “Cherry isn’t actually my real name, my birth name is Allara Sunrunner, Cherry’s just my nickname because my hair is a cherry red,” she couldn’t help but notice a few eavesdroppers (Ziyo included), gasped when she said her birth name. _Oh yeah forgot I used my nickname since arriving in Kalimdor,_ “I prefer being called Cherry,”

“How come?” Teras raised an eyebrow, “well I was named after Alleria Windrunner, who is a hero to my people, I’ve always been expected to follow my family's footsteps in becoming a ranger,”. Selene frowned, “you don’t have to be like your cousin or parents, you’re your own person,”  
  
“I know that,” she continued to snuggle her lynx, “my parents would be supportive even if I choose another path, but wielding a bow is in my blood, and although I enjoy adventure. Defending others and protecting my home is a greater treasure than any gold,” she stared up at the darkening sky. Stars were starting to crawl out of their hiding places. “They must be worried sick about me,”  
  


She noticed Teras and Selene exchange worried glances, but she guessed they were sharing a similar concern, “your turn Selene,”. Teras gave her a quizzical look, she then added, “I think talking about your past might be therapeutic,”

The human finished her milk beverage before speaking, “Well, I do miss my family,” she wiped a lone tear, “But I don’t mind telling you about them,”  
  


Selene then started her story, “I wasn’t part of a noble or rich family, but it was a happy one,”. She tossed another stick in their makeshift campfire, “I was an only child, but I grew up among my cousins, so they were like brothers and sisters to me,”.

“That’s sweet,” Cherry gushed, Teras jabbed her in the arm for interrupting, “ow,” she glared back at him, who hummed like he did nothing wrong.

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to fight, much like you Cherry,” Selene gestured to the elf, who blinked in surprise. “But not as a ranger, but as a warrior!”

“I wonder why she didn’t choose to be a paladin,” Lucy commented, “ask her,” Cherry sighed at the lynx’s antics and translated to Selene, the human rolled her eyes and groaned in retaliation.

“Paladins are annoying priests with swords, they preach on and on about how ‘the light is sacred’ or ‘the light defeats my enemies’, a bunch of wishy washy stuff,” Teras and Cherry gave confused glances.

“I think you’re the first human I’ve met that doesn’t worship the Light,” Teras pointed out. Selene gave an amused snort, “The Light has some uses, that’s for sure, but it’s just a tool,” she then added darkly, “A tool that Arthas used when he slaughtered my city,”

The campfire fizzled out, silence followed the warrior’s statement. _Prince Arthas Menethil? HE’S the one who burned Stratholme!?_ Cherry’s green and blue eyes widened with horror, in an instant she wrapped Selene into a hug.  
“That’s horrible, no person should have to go through what happened to you,” Cherry tightly squeezed the girl, “losing one’s family and home is a thing that shouldn’t happen ever,”

“I’m afraid I’m not the only one who’s going through that,” the warrior sighed, the elf heard Teras cough behind her. “Hush Selene,” she heard the mage speak in a pitiful voice, “we’re not the ones who should spill,”. The words were confusing as Cherry did not know the context behind them, but she didn’t pry at all.

“You can go now Teras,” Selene and Cherry ended their hug and sat back down, “I’m feeling better now,”  
  


“Alright,” the mage cracked his knuckles and began in a dramatic but humorous voice to lift their spirits.

“I do not know my origin story, I was found soaked on the streets of Dalaran by the Kirin Tor, but this does not bother me at all,” Teras then used his magic to restart the extinguished campsite. “Since mages were the ones who took me in, I grew up as a mage, but research and finding answers is my passion,” the mage did several dramatic poses which got the girls to start giggling at his antics.

“Some may call me a ‘scientist’ of some sort, since I am quite knowledgeable on herbal remedies and cures, I dream of curing every curse and disease in Azeroth,” Teras spoke in a determined voice, as he was dedicated to his dream. “This planet is our home, so we must treat it with love and nurturing,”

“Very inspirational,” Lucy purred with amusement, “this guy is going to go places,” Cherry calmly told the lynx to not interrupt Teras’s story.

“I’m mostly close to Jaina, out of all the Kirin Tor,” Teras’s boasting and bravado had worn off now, and his voice was more calmer, “she’s like the mom I never had, I love her a lot,” he started wrapping up his story now. “She taught me about peace and love, lessons that follow because Azeroth would be a greater place if we all respect each other,” the mage took a dramatic bow as he ended his tale.

“Bravo,” Selene and Cherry clapped, but they were surprised that several others were listening to Teras speak as well. Members of the Alliance and Horde were applauding, Teras chuckled, “aw you all are too sweet,” which started a round of chuckles.

Teras’s dreams were made true that night, as both groups were respectful as they told stories and tried to understand each other.

It was one of the best night’s Cherry had, and she needed a bit of happiness for the future.

Because where the demons went, sadness and despair followed like sickness, and it would contaminate her next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have zero idea how to write the Alliance and Horde awkwardly interacting with eachother rip me  
> Also Teras the mage from Dalaran returns! With a cool warrior friend named Selene..  
> who's from Stratholme......she's trying to act put together at the moment because there's currently the threat of Legion..but she'll have time to properly grieve afterwords..
> 
> Cherry: If it's just humans here then that means my cousin did a great job at defending her home and everyone is okay!  
> Teras and Selene: hahahahah...yeah (oh gods please help this poor naive soul)  
> (offscreens is the Warchief giving a severe punishments to the orcs that threw Cherry to the wolves)  
> Also it's confirmed that Cherry's birth name Allara was named after Alleria  
> Selene: You don't have to follow your family's footsteps because you were named after a great hero  
> Cherry: I know but defending innocents is the noblest things to do
> 
> Selene's dislike of the Light is because of Stratholme..if monsters like Arthas can wield the "holy" Light, then anyone can use it for evil
> 
> Teras: I want to do the impossible and help people! Nothing can stop me!  
> Selene and Cherry with tears: you're doing amazing sweetie
> 
> On a lore note: I do think that the Alliance and Horde can get along, they mostly work together for survival, and hopefully one day they each try to take a step away from the bloodshed for the sake of future generations.  
> But let's be real the game is called World of WARcraft so there's always going to be some conflict.  
> But I think the champions can get along swell (which they DO in this AU)  
> Next chapter will be a bit...dark so bring some tissues!


	10. Dark Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A naive girl learns the truth of what happened in the Eastern Kingdoms

Thick and heavy leather pelts were carried across camp. Cherry was carrying a rather large pile, “where should I put these?” she asked Ziyo. The troll pointed to the left, “right dere, it needs a few more layers,” the elf nodded, and placed the pelts in a neat pile. She then gestured for her lynx Lucy, to come over from the other side of the camp.

“Can you get us a few more string and needles?” she asked her pet, “we need to keep these hides on the barricade,”. Lucy nodded, “you got it!” and she dashed quickly and brought the supplies rather quickly.

“Can you lend me a hand Ziyo?” Cherry would need an extra pair of hands to reinforce the camp barricade, “of course _Allara_ ,” Ziyo spoke in a smooth tone. Cherry rolled her eyes at the troll’s humor.

Since everyone at this point was aware that her birth name was Allara, Ziyo sometimes called her that in a flirtatious tone, she thought that her friend was just teasing her but Teras and Selene thought otherwise.

“He liiiiikes you,” the mage would roll his tongue, and Selene just kept winking at her, it was driving her silly and a distraction to the threat of the demon controlled orcs.

_Now I really wish my dad was here,_ Cherry and Ziyo kept sewing the leather pelts to the wooden barricade, it added extra protection to outside danger. _He fought in the Second War, I bet he could give me tips on fighting orcs_ _._ A part of her was riddled with anxiety, as she dreaded if she ran into Go’shar at any point. She didn’t want to see him in his angry bloodlust ever again. But thanks to the Legion, she’d have to fight an entire clan of angry orcs.

“Shame the Warsong carelessly cut da trees of dis forest,” Ziyo commented aloud, “tis a very lovely place, I can sense all da nature’s powah in the bark,” his statement suddenly reminded Cherry of someone she forgot about; Kyanne.

“Oh thank the Sunwell, Ziyo you helped me figure it out!” the troll was confused by her statement, “I helped ya with what now?”  
  
“Figuring out why the Warsong drank demon blood again,” Cherry got a spare stick and began sketching a messy but clear picture. It would’ve been clearer were it not for Lucy kicking up dirt clouds on her drawing. _The little brat..._

“These forests are inhabited by kaldorei, or night elves,” Cherry began, “I know this because I met one when I woke up on Kalimdor, she’s also the one who suggested I find the Horde,” she gave a wink at Ziyo, “so you can thank a kaldorei named Kyanne for helping us meet,”.

“Sorry ta interrupt yer explanation,” Ziyo raised a hand in question, “but are ya still gonna be Horde now dat da humans are here?”  
  
“I’m not sure,” she responded, “I know my people are part of the Alliance, but I don’t want to be enemies of the Horde or vice-versa,” Cherry sighed, “I just wanna get back to my family again, the choosing of which faction I want to stay with can be done after we defeat these demons,”

“Smart move,” Ziyo nodded, “continue with yer story,”  
  
“So judging by how Kyanne told me she was a druid, and one with nature,” Cherry drew a little rough doodle of Kyanne’s cat form, which was inaccurate but she was never good at art. _It was more of Elvia's thing._ “The kaldorei must naturally be a race with strong ties with nature, like your people,”.

“True, ya got a poi-ouch!” Ziyo had accidentally pricked his finger with the sewing needle, small droplets of blood were coming from the injury, “I’m fine elfmon,” he replied when noticing Cherry’s worried gaze.

  
“Alright, so the Warsong cutting down the trees must’ve angered the night elves a lot, so they fought over control of Ashenvale,” a part of Cherry felt like it was a conflict that could be avoided. Maybe if these night elves calmly explained what was going on to the Warsong we wouldn’t have this damn demon problem at the moment, she took a deep breath to collect her raging thoughts, then again what do I know about how this world works.

  
“The night elves must have been doing better than the orcs, so they turned to the demon blood once more to gain the advantage,” her voice took a dark and ominous tone, “letting them fall victim to the Legion’s control once more, and it is up to the teamwork of the Alliance and Horde to free Grom Hellscream and the Warsong from their darkness,”

“Your narration is as dramatic as Teras can get,” Selene spoke from behind them, both the elf and troll turned to look at the human. “All three of us and Teras are going on a patrol now,” she tossed them their weapons, “you’re going to need some protection,”.

“I’ll get Scarfang and meet ya at da camp exit den,” Ziyo placed the last leather pelt on the barricade and went to collect his raptor.

“Patrolling sounds fun!” Cherry beamed, attempting to keep positive despite the gloomy situation, “just a regular walk around the woods,”  
“You’re so adorable no wonder your troll friend likes you so much,” Selene teased, giving a friendly wink.

“Shut up!”

The forests of Ashenvale were still glowing with nature, but there was a sense of darkness between the trees. The group was so tense they were expecting a bloodcrazed orc to pop out of any bush at any given moment.

“This patrol has been quite peaceful,” Teras hummed, the mage was more relaxed out of the group.  
“That’s just what people would say before they’re attacked by something!” Cherry pointed out, glancing between trees.  
“Dis has been a rather boring patrol,” Ziyo had his bow in his hands and was keeping his finger on the trigger, “needs more action,”.

“I think the orcs are more focused on the soldiers attacking them than a bunch of kids,” Selene grumbled, “I think we were just put on this patrol on the quiet side of Ashenvale so we won’t join the fight,”  
  
“Not cool,” Lucy shared Selene’s grumpy mood, “I wanted to beat up demons,”

“You might get that chance, I hear something,” Scarfang pointed his tail to a slightly moving bush, the group aimed their weapons and spells, preparing for an attack.

Only for a small squirrel to jump out of the bush and run up one of the trees.

“Let’s just finish and get back to camp,” Cherry sighed, “I don’t think any attacks are going to come from this side of the forest anytime soon,”

  
  


When getting back to camp, Cherry noted how the Grom rescue mission was a success. As the group saw the leader of the Warsong clan was getting his wounds tended by a few healers, Ziyo split off from the group to talk to his friends who were part of the rescue mission.

“Cherry! Come quick!” the trio’s movements were halted by Hamu, the tauren was running towards them, “I have news about Go’shar!”  
  
“You do!?” Cherry quickly ran to the shaman, “is he back to normal?” the shaman’s gaze dropped down, “he uh..he went back to normal, but his wounds are too severe,”.

“I’m afraid this evening is Go’shar’s last night, he won’t survive until morning,”. The elf’s eyes widened with horror, “my brother wanted me to find you so you can say goodbye,” Cherry thanked the tauren and asked Teras and Selene to accompany her. “Of course,” Selene nodded, “it’s always awful to say goodbye to someone,” Teras added. The two of them each took one of her hands and they walked to where Go’shar was.

The orc was covered in bandages and was drinking a pain relieving tonic, but it wouldn’t be enough to heal him in time. His wolf Fang was curled at his side, wanting to spend as much time with his master before having to leave.

“Cherry,” the orc rasped, staring at her and Lucy, “it’s good to see you again,” each word seemed to cause severe pain for Go’shar, yet he continued to speak.

“I never got to apologize for what I said on our pelt collecting patrol,” Cherry’s eyes glistened with tears, “I’m sorry for saying that to you,” the orc shook his head, “you were right in some ways,”.

“We orcs have always lived lives of honor on Draenor, and always fought in honor,” Go’shar spoke sadly, as he remembered his dead homeland. “But times change, and our people are slow to change,”. The hunter let out a pained cough, Fang gazed at him with concern.

“I remembered your words of wisdom for keeping my temper in check,” the statement carried a heavy weight, “I was able to gain enough control to save others from fatal blows,” the orc gestured to his heavily wounded body. “I am grateful I can at least say goodbye to my people, however I wish I could say goodbye to my daughter,”  
  


“Your daughter?” Cherry blinked, she didn’t know that Go’shar had children, but then regretted her words. _She must be dead if he says that he could say goodbye._

“Some of us asked the elders to hide our children from the warlocks and their dark magic,” Go’shar explained, “my daughter Shara was one of them, she is still on what’s left of our home,”

“What would you say to Shara if you could?” Cherry asked, no more tears threatened to spill from her cheeks. “I’d tell her that I love her, and that I am proud of her and no matter what I would always be with her in her heart,” Go’shar sighed, he sat back down on his bed, “I’d like to get some rest now,”. Cherry knew that the orc meant that he wanted some peace before he…

“Sleep peacefully friend,” Cherry gave a sad smile, before leaving the tent, “I’ll never forget that you helped me meet a Horde that was kind,” _If I ever meet your daughter Shara, I promise to tell her what you would’ve said._

_Goodbye Go’shar._

  
  


The next morning was rather miserable. It wasn’t just because of the losses both sides faced. But Thrall and Grommash had travelled to fight the demon who’s blood had cursed the orcs in the first place.

The Pit Lord Mannaroth.

They had won, but at the sacrifice of Grommash Hellscream. Many Warsong members were grieving for their fallen leader. Cherry herself shared their grief, she didn’t know Grom at all. But she knew that the orc, despite the many mistakes he made, truly cared about his people.

“I wish there was something we could do to cheer everyone up,” Lucy twitched her ears, the lynx was currently grooming her pelt. “Me too,” the elf agreed, _maybe when this whole demon mess is over, there should be a big party! With lots of food and drinks and music, it would cheer everyone up!_

  
  
  


“Cherry?” the elf turned around, noticing Selene and Teras had walked up to her, they both had guilty looks on their faces. “Jaina Proudmoore wants to talk to you,” She was surprised at the news, but she hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to the mage since the humans and orcs teamed up.

“Alright, come on Lucy,” she followed her human friends to the large tent where Jaina was living. _I wonder what she wants?_ The elf couldn’t help but wonder.

Jaina was sitting on one of the leather carpets of the tent, “thank you for bringing her, you both may go now,” she gestured for Teras and Selene to leave.

“Alright,” both humans glumly commented, they gave her sad looks before leaving, _jeez they must be really upset this morning._ It was the saddest she had seen the two of them ever been, _hopefully they would feel better soon._

“It’s good to see you again Allara,” Jaina spoke using her birth name, “how are you this morning?”  
“A tad gloomy but alright,” Cherry took a seat on the leather carpet, “I was thinking of maybe after this demon mess is over, both groups should host a celebratory party to cheer spirits,”

The mage smiled, “that’s really sweet,” then Jaina’s smile drooped, “I heard from Teras and Selene that you don’t know any current news about your people or Quel’Thalas, you must be worried sick,”

“A little,” she replied, “but since they’re not here they must have their borders defended well,” she didn’t notice Jaina’s neutral expression turned to sadness, “I’m not sure why the humans didn’t come to Quel’Thalas after the Scourge showed up, my people might be loners but we’d help oth-”  
“Allara,” Jaina interrupted her, she then noticed the misery on her face, “I’m afraid that’s not what happened,”

“Your people...they were hit badly by the Scourge, I’m sorry to tell you this but…” the mage trailed off, “it was a massacre,”  
  
“What?” Cherry’s eyes widened with horror, _this has to be some kind of dream,_ she pinched her arm and winced at the pain, it wasn’t a dream, it was reality.

“Arthas...he lead the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas,” Cherry suddenly remembered at that moment Jaina was once in a romantic relationship with the Prince of Loredaron, a very long time ago. Not wanting to cause any more stress for the mage she stayed silent during the sad tale.

“At first, your cousin Sylvanas was very..very brave in defending Quel’Thalas, the rest of the quel’dorei would be dead were it not for her..but a traitor had opened the gates to the Scourge,”.

“I’m so sorry to tell you this, but Sylvanas had fallen to Arthas in the invasion, she sacrificed herself to buy time for citizens to escape the clutches of the undead,” Jaina paused a moment before telling the most horrible parts of the story.

“Arthas did not give her peace...he was furious because she was a thorn in his side during the invasion, so he took that cursed blade called Frostmourne..and raised Sylvanas as a banshee,”

It took her a few moments before the realization hit her..

Sylvanas was dead..her cousin, her role model, the person she wanted to be when she grew up. Was now a mindless minion of the Scourge, she raised a hand to her cheeks to try stopping the fountain of tears pouring down from her eyes.

“The capital city of Silvermoon then fell, Arthas then travelled to the Sunwell, killed King Anesterian, and used the Sunwell’s power to resurrect Kel’Thuzad, the same necromancer Arthas once killed,” Jaina herself wiped the tears from her eyes, “The Sunwell was corrupted at that point, I’m sorry to tell you this but better the truth did not come up at a more terrible moment,”

“The Sunwell?” Cherry’s voice felt dry and heavy, “Yes,” Jaina sadly nodded, “It’s surprising how it’s absence has not affected your magic, however the loss of it’s connection is obvious in your eyes,”

The mage then brought a jug of water for Cherry to see, she hadn’t seen her reflection since arriving on Kalimdor, but the change in her eyes were clear.

They had stopped glowing brightly, confirming that Jaina’s words were the truth.  
“I’m so very sorry for your loss Allara,” Jaina spoke, but she did not hear the mage’s words at that point, it was drowned out by heavy silence, the elf just stared at her reflection in the water.

Her brother once told her that she looked a little like her cousin, except that her hair was a cherry red compared to Sylvanas’s golden locks. She didn’t believe her brother then, but she believed it now as she mindlessly stared at her reflection.

The reflection that reminded her of her cousin, and her family and people.  
  
That were now gone forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Selene: Aw man we got stuck on a boring patrol while everyone gets to fight demons, not cool!  
> Teras: Do you want us to get killed?!
> 
> Poor Go'shar ;-;....he says the "times change" line to reflect how the old ways of his people died when they drank demon blood.  
> Cherry promises to tell Go'shar's daughter his words to her..a thing that will be important in the sequel!
> 
> I like writing Jaina, she's a pretty interesting character that goes through a lot and tried to do things peacefully.  
> Writing Cherry sad hurts my soul ;-;..but she had to find out what happened eventually..  
> I head cannon that the high elves connection to the Sunwell is prominent in their glowing eyes, since they're a magic oriented race that suffered greatly when it was destroyed. 
> 
> My poor poor elf child, she's so heartbroken.


	11. Legion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teras and Selene cheer up their friend Allara. And decide to do something to help against the demons!  
> ...without telling anyone

It has been two weeks since Ch-Allara Sunrunner, had learned the fate of Quel’Thalas.

Teras kept feeling guilty for telling the motherly figure in his life; Jaina about the elf’s predicament.

_“And you say she doesn’t know what happened to Quel’Thalas? Her family?”_

_“Not a peep, she thinks that they’re all safe and that the Scourge couldn’t get them,”_

_“I see, bring her to my tent tomorrow morning, I will tell her the truth,”_  
“...you can’t!”  
“Better to come from me than anyone else,”  
“It will break her!”  
“Terasthil!”

Allara had been allowed to stay in Jaina’s tent, she hasn’t come outside at all. Her lynx Lucy had occasionally came out to eat with the rest of the animals, but it was easy to see the grief in her eyes as the lynx sorrowfully nibbled her food.

“It’s not your fault Teras,” he turned to see Selene had walked up to him, “you didn’t do the wrong thing,”  
  
“I gave her false hope for the future, and then took it away from her,” Teras looked down, not making eye contact with the warrior. “I’m just as awful as-”  
  
**_Slap!_**

“Don’t compare yourself to that monster!” Selene glared, “it’s his fault that Cherry’s family is gone, not yours,” the warrior then placed an ice pack on his cheek, “besides she still has us, and that Ziyo troll who keeps padding after her,”.

  
“Thanks Selene,” he then digested some of her words, “padding?”

“I’m not blind, I can see a crush a mile away,” his friend winked, “now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got to play matchmaker,” she then bolted off.

“Selene it’s never a good idea!” he gave chase, “name one time!” she yelled back, the poor mage wasn’t as fast as his more athletic friend. By the time he caught up to Selene, he was huffing and dripping sweat.

“Wait...this isn’t Ziyo’s tent…” recognizing the large size and purple color, he realized it was Jaina’s tent, and where-

“Surprise!” Selene bursted through the tent door, grabbing Teras with her. Lying down on one of the tent’s furniture was-

“Allara! How are you feeling?” the elf in question had dark circles growing under her slightly red eyes.

“Hello Selene, hello Teras,” Allara’s voice sounded dry and hoarse, Teras felt a little awkward in the situation, _what am I supposed to say to someone who just found out all their friends and family are dead?_. “I’m doing fine, and so is Lucy,” she gestured to the red lynx that was lying by her side. The lynx in question looked up at the two of them, giving them a suspicious look. _I wouldn’t blame Lucy for not trusting us._

“I’m not upset at you guys,” Allara gazed to the side, “I had to face reality sooner or later,”

“Could’ve been handled a bit more softly,” Teras frowned, “we’re really worried about you,”

Lucy mewed something to Allara, the elf gave a questioning gaze to the lynx, but nodded, “it better not be pity,”  
  


“It’s not,” Selene went and sat next to Allara, “I know how it feels..to lose your family..and home, but we’re here for you,” it was strange to see the normally stoic and hardened Selene show her softer side. Teras was aware the warrior kept a tough facade to hide her own grief, but seeing beyond that was rare.

“How are you able to keep on going?” the hunter asked her friend, who pondered for a bit before responding.

“I didn’t at first, I was bitter, angry,” the warrior’s gaze dropped to the side as she remembered the past. “Lashed out at others, but Teras here,” she gestured to the mage, “stood by my side and was my emotional support.

“Grief is a tricky creature...you have to fight it or else it will control you, I still miss my family but I’ll take my time to mourn once I defeat the demons who caused their demise,”. A few droplets of tears were coming from both girls shared their grief for a brief moment. Teras didn’t speak a word for the entire experience.

“I think my parents are gone for good,” Allara broke the silence.

“My dad..he had seen something and I had to get his attention, looking back there was grief in his eyes, maybe...he saw my mother..or what was left of her at that point,” Both the mage and warrior were silent.

“My twin brother, he had went to Silvermoon before my dad and I went on our last trading trip in Dalaran, I don’t think he survived, maybe he did but I don’t want to give myself false hope,” She had a brother? It was the first time Teras had heard of him.

“I miss them so, so much, but out there is the demons and their murderers,” Allara wiped away the last of her tears and stood up, determination in her eyes.

“And I’m going to make sure nobody else losses family to the Legion,”

“So what’s the plan?” Selene spoke at first, they were currently at her and Teras’s shared tent and planning what to do.

“I got caught up on the current situation from Ziyo and the Wildwater brothers,” Allara frowned, “shame the kaldorei are hostile,”  
  
“We did invade their forests,” Teras pointed out, but then Lucy hissed at the mage, he flinched. “I want to find Kyanne Songriver, the druid who I first met when arriving in Kalimdor,” Allara pointed to a spot on the map where a river was, “which was around this area if my theory is correct,”  
  
“Why is this a good idea?” Selene raised a hand in question, “because Kyanne could help us get the kaldorei, humans, and orcs working together on defeating the Legion,” the elf ambitiously stated, “prejudice aside it’s better if we all fight one common enemy lest we let Azeroth get destroyed by demons because we hold grudges like glue,”

“You make it sound so simple,” Teras whined, “how are we gonna get permission,” Selene grinned, “we don’t,”. Allara cheered, “alright let’s do it!”  
Teras groaned, they were gonna be the death of him one of these days.

As the trio quietly tried sneaking out of camp, they were stopped by a familiar face, “elfmon?” Allara turned as Ziyo and Scarfang running to the trio. _Oh jeez_ , Teras realized the troll must’ve figured out what they were up to.

“Hey Ziyo,” the elf waved, “we were just…”  
“Doin somedin dangerous,” Ziyo held a few papers in his hands, “found dis in yer tent, yer really gonna try dis on yer own?” Allara nodded, “of course, I have to stop the Legion,”.

“But what if ya get hurt,” concern was in the troll’s blue eyes, “yer important to me,” Scarfang growled in agreement.

“I have to do this Ziyo,” Allara pleaded, “please,” the troll sighed and nodded.

“Alright, but before ya go,” the troll then did something unexpected at that moment.

He then took Allara’s hand and planted a kiss on her cheek, causing the humans behind her to gasp in surprise.  
“I really love ya a lot elfmon, and I wanted to tell ya,” the troll spoke in a gentle voice, “yer very compassionate and sweet despite da past, and ya made mah life better in every way,”.

“Ziyo,” Allara smiled, “that’s really sweet, I may not have a clear answer now, but when I do,” she then placed a kiss on Ziyo’s cheek, “you’ll always hold a special place in my heart,”.

She then turned around and let her friends on a dangerous adventure to save Azeroth from the Legion, whether they came back or not, it was a mystery.

  
  
  


“I can’t believe how dorky you lovebirds were,”

“Selene!”

“Yeah and I thought trolls were supposed to be the smooth ones, I guess elves are more flirtatious than I thought!”  
“Teras! You guys are awful!”

Since it had been a few hours after they began their journey, and both humans had started mercilessly teasing their elven friend about her feelings for a certain troll hunter.

Lucy meowed something and Allara replied, “oh not you too Lucy,” the elf was red with embarrassment, “we’ve got to be more careful,” there had been a few demons that had attacked them, rather easy to defeat but it was worrisome. They could be in Legion territory and not even know about it, it kept them on their toes at all times.

“Well we’ve been doing a good job at killing those scoundrels,” smirked Selene, “especially any of their undead minions,”  
“Can’t believe they followed us to Kalimdor, what did they steal a boat?” Teras frowned, “maybe they have one made of bones,” Allara teased. The trio fell into a chorus of chuckles as they kept jokingly theorized about undead boats, it kept their spirits up during the hard times.  
  
“Still we should be careful, we’re not even sure if this Kyanne is hostile to humans now,” Teras raised a concern, cautiously glancing between the trees of Ashenvale.  
“Teras has a point there may be an ambush-” Selene’s words were cut off as rapid shapes jumped down from the trees, immediately circling them. It took awhile for them to realize it was kaldorei, armed with glaives and ready to draw blood at any movement.  
“Waiting for us..” the warrior grumbled, “We come in peace!” Allara yelled, fearlessly speaking to the armed kaldorei.

“Lies,” one of the spoke, it was scary at how wise and calm the kaldorei was, “you outsiders killed Cenarious, and now you three assassins have come to kill our High Priestess,” were they not in danger Teras would’ve laughed at how ridiculous the elves had sounded. _Oh yeah lady, like a bunch of teenagers and a small lynx can totally take down your leader._

“No! We’re looking for Kyanne Songriver,” and both humans facepalmed at Allara’s obliviousness to how suspicious that sounded, _way to ease the tension Cherry._

“How do you know that name?” one of the elves pointed a blade at them, “they must be Legion spies!”  
  
“They are not,” another kaldorei voice spoke up, all three teenagers turned around as a kaldorei woman walked past the guarded circle, by Allara’s sudden gasp, this elf must be the Kyanne they were looking for.  
“Hello little quel’dorei, I see you’ve brought your friends, glad to see you’ve grown so much in such a short time,”  
  


The tension was less deadly when the druid had shown up. The sentinels, as the armored kaldorei were called, had dropped their glaives when Kyanne explained how she had helped Allara at a point. But Teras wasn’t blind to the glares some of them were still giving him. The group was currently being escorted to where the night elves were currently camping at.  
“Are the Legion bothering you guys too?” Allara spoke to the druid, “they’ve been giving us a hard time,”.

“Yes, they share hatred since we had defeated their first invasion about ten thousand years ago,” Kyanne explained, Teras’s eyes widened when the druid spoke so easily about the years. _Ten thousand!? How old are these night elves?!_

“Geez you look real young for someone older than the human kingdoms,” Selene commented a little enviously, “real shame our kind have little life spans compared to most races,”

“Your quel’dorei friend shares the same lifespan as our people,” Kyanne pointed out, “a long time ago they used to be part of our people, but when magic was banned they left to the Eastern Kingdoms,” Teras saw how the elf flinched when the druid spoke of her people. _Poor dear, she’s showing a brave face for now, but not even a pep talk can cure grief._

  
“Why did you ban magic?” Allara questioned, “it’s not deadly unless you know how to properly use it,”  
  
“It is because our Queen Azshara used it and the Well of Eternity to bring the Legion to our world in the first place,”

A kaldorei with her hair green as the tree’s leaves and eyes deep as the night spoke. She was riding atop a large feline cat, Lucy meowed a friendly greeting to the big cat. Who had given a short and curt meow in response, _Oh jeez this elf is the High Priestess, and I wonder what Lucy said to her cat, why am I thinking of that now?!_ Teras cleared his scatterbrained mind and focused on the rather intimidating night elf in front of them.

  
“Not every mage is like that traitor Tyrande,” Kyanne spoke in a tone similar to how one would speak to an old friend, “these brave children here are Teras, Selene and Allara, they do not wish for our home to be lost to the demons,”  
“They are also outsiders, like the ones who killed Cenarius,” The High Priestess glared at the trio. Teras had heard from some of the Warsong members that Grommash had drank the demon blood again in the first place was to defeat some powerful demigod, it didn’t take much theorizing to realize that it was Cenarius who was the demigod.  
  


“That was the Warsong clan,” Selene pointed out, “not us, we’re just wanting to get rid of these demons, who killed our families and burned our homes!” the warrior looked like she was going to jump at the night elf, only being held back by Allara.  
“Please give us a chance,” Allara was brave in speaking to the much older elf, Teras could see the fear in her eyes but she did not give ground.

“Fine, but only because Kyanne believes you have some good in you, but I will be keeping an eye on all three of you,” Tyrande turned to Teras, her glare more harsher, “especially you, _mage_ ,” the Priestess then walked away, “send them to their sleeping quarters,”.

All teens were relieved that they weren’t turned away, a few sentinels showed them to a small, but livable tent for the three of them to sleep in. “Jeez they’re really keeping an eye on us,” Allara pointed out, “see over there?” she gestured to a couple of the nearby tents. “There are some kaldorei in the tents keeping their literal eyes on us,”

“Well I don’t blame them for being suspicious of outsiders after everything that happened,” Selene was rolling their sleeping backs, her comment was quite odd since earlier she almost fought Tyrande for comparing them to the Warsong. “Her comment on Teras was totally uncalled for,”

“I’m gonna find out who this Azshara lady is, and beat her up for ruining the good name of magic,” Teras huffed rather loudly, as if he was declaring this to the whole kaldorei encampment, “I hate people who use magic for evil! They are the absolute worst!”

“I’m gonna go look around,” Allara declared, placing her things down and exiting the tent, “hopefully some of them are more friendlier,” her lynx Lucy followed her trail. Both Teras and Selene waved, but the warrior said a few parting words before she left.

“Watch out for the High Priestess, if she was nasty to Teras because he used magic, she might not like someone who’s part of a magic using race,”

Allara had been exploring the kaldorei encampment for a while now, and learning lots of new information about the night elves. Much to her unfortunate, Kyanne was put on another patrol and wouldn’t be back until the next morning, however there were a few members that were quite polite and answered her questions.

“You want to learn more about our people?” she had been speaking to a male druid and a female priest, she was surprised that the two roles were mostly gender exclusive, with a few exceptions like Kyanne for example.

“A thousand apologies if this question bothers you two, but I am curious about this ‘Queen Azshara’ scoundrel that was a thorn in your peoples side, I am mostly asking for my friend Teras who hates anyone who uses magic for dark purposes,” she was used to speaking elegantly and polite back at home. She often spoke in that manner whenever she and Taerok were on trips with their father, who always told them to speak politely to folk they did not know.

“Ah her, she may have looked like a goddess on the outside, but no radiant beauty could hide the ugly monster on the inside,” the druid spoke first, “she wanted power, and the Legion offered that to her,”.

“Luckily the dragons, and the rest of our people that didn’t side with her managed to destroy the Well of Eternity, and stop Sargeras, the leader of the Burning Legion from entering our world,” the priest added, “after that magic was banned, and the ones who didn’t wish to give it up had left,”.

“Yeah and before that, our world only had one continent, and now there's several, some have not been discovered yet,” the druid added, “by the way, I’m Faldron Nightwater,” he then pointed to his priest companion, “and this here is the love of my life Nileria Seadream,”

“I’m Allara Sunrunner, though most call me Cherry due to my red locks,” she waved, “nice to meet a friendly face in tough times,”.

“Pah, Tyrande’s always been the stubborn one,” Faldron snorted, then got a smack on the arm by Nileria, “don’t be rude! Our High Priestess always tries to do what’s best for our people,”  
“No offense to her, but I doubt Illidan does anything that is good for our people, only him,” Allara noted how hostile the druid was when he spoke the name.  
“Who’s Illidan?” she asked, it was Nileria who answered her question, “Illidan Stormrage, twin brother of Tyrande’s love Malfurion, known as ‘The Betrayer’ by many, he’s an idiot who’s quite selfish and thought it was a good idea making another Well of Eternity,”

“Even after the first one was used for evil?” Allara gasped, she was rather surprised as she got the impression most night elves hated the thought of magic after what had happened.

“He was imprisoned for ten thousand years, which was rather overkill to me, but Tyrande let him out since he was quite the powerful demon hunter during the war,” the hunter almost fainted when Faldron got to the imprisonment part.

“Jeez how long do you people live!” Lucy growled, she had been rather silent the whole time, “and ten thousand is a long time to punish someone for their stupid life choices!”

“Our people are immortal, thanks to the powers of the World Tree in Mt. Hyjal,” Faldron got a strange look from his lover, “I was answering the lynx’s question,”  
  


“Ten thousand is still a long time, immortal or not,” Allara commented, “I would be miserable if I was separated from my own twin brother Taerok, even if he did anything stupid or bad, he’s still family and I would try to stop him from doing things like that in the future,”.

“You’re a good kid Cherry,” Nileria spoke, “Illidan may have been Malfurion’s twin, but he was not happy when Tyrande released him, I hope your brother is alright,”

“Me too,” she sighed, _even though chances are slim, I hope you’re still out there Taerok._

She waved farewell to the couple and spent the next few hours trying to decipher the kaldorei’s language Darnassian, which was similar to her people’s language Thalassian. Lucy herself was attempting to socialize with the other animals in the camp, it was rather successful on the lynx’s part as she was happily chattering to the various frostsabers and other creatures.

By meal time she had rejoined Teras and Selene, they were sharing what they had learned about the kaldorei, and enjoyed fresh vegetables. When she got a poke on the shoulder by a kaldorei that wanted their attention.

“Pardon me, but Tyrande usually sends someone to bring food to The Betrayer,” the kaldorei’s tone of voice was neutral, neither angry or kind. “However she wants one of the outsiders to do it as a sort of test,”.

“I can do it,” Allara offered first. “Hey I could do it as well,” Teras huffed in response, “oh please, you’d get mad at him for his misuse of magic, and I am aware my temper is quite short, Allara’s best suited for the task,” Selene gave her friend a soft hit to the shoulder.

“Illidan is usually in that direction of the camp,” the night elf pointed a little south, “good luck, “

Allara was given a plate of food (she noted how the plate had a smaller ration than other meals she’d seen, and added a few pieces of food when nobody was looking), and went to look for Illidan. She had found The Betrayer resting at the bottom of the tree, a part of her half expected him to attack based on the information she had learned, but he didn’t move an inch. 

Illidan looked rather unusual, his violet skin and dark raven hair looked to be usual kaldorei trait. She noted that he was only wearing a thick pair of leather trousers. There were faded green tattoos etched onto his bare skin, symbols that reminded Allara a little of the Burning Legion. She did not know what color Illidan’s eyes were because he had a blindfold on. But looking closer she could see a pair of glowing fel green eyes shining behind the dark cloth, which gave her some nerves.

“Hello,” she spoke in a nervous, but friendly voice, “I brought food,” Illidan turned to gaze at her.

“Who is this? Are you one of the outsiders?” The Betrayer growled in a guttural voice.

“Yes, I’m Allara Sunrunner, er Tyrande wanted me to get you some food,” she placed the plate next to Illidan and stood back, unsure if she should head back to her friends.

“Hm, I can tell you added a few pieces,” he commented between a few mouthfuls, “er yes, even though you did some..questionable things, it’s rather wrong to starve someone who’s help you’re asking for,” she awkwardly responded. _This conversation is more awkward than that stuffy noble party in Stormwind._

“You’re rather young aren’t you?” Illidan spoke, he had finished his meal rather quickly, “just a mere child, and yet you’re rather braver than most who are thousands of years older than you,” _Was that a compliment? I can’t tell._

“I try to be, I just want the Legion to be stopped before they hurt anymore people,” she replied sadly, thinking of her home and family.

“The only thing I desire is the end of the Burning Legion, no matter what,” Allara could tell from the angry tone of voice and how Illidan was clenching his glaives, that he really would do anything to defeat the Burning Legion. There was a moment of silence, unsure of what to say, Allara tried changing the subject.

“You have a twin brother right?” Illidan’s scarred ears twitched in response, “I myself have a twin brother named Taerok..I’m not sure if he’s alive or not, but he’d probably want to stop the Burning Legion too, whenever we listened to our dad’s war stories,” Allara felt a pang of sadness recalling the memory, but she wouldn’t let her grief stop her. “Taerok would always declare he’d ‘defeat the demons for good if they ever showed up!’ and then I’d challenge him for that honor, though I’d probably have to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid to get him killed,” she gave a sad chuckle. “I miss him a lot, I hope he’s out there,”.

“My brother and I have a complicated relationship,” Illidan spoke up, “we do not get along very well, but we both do care for Tyrande,” Allara was surprised at that, “really? No offense to you, but she’s been giving rather rude vibes to me and my friends, especially Teras,”.

“The mage one?” she nodded, “he’s rather naive, but quite clever,”.

Allara’s ears twitched as she heard her friends calling, “oh my friends are starting to get worried, I can hear their worried yelling,” she waved goodbye to Illidan, “it was nice talking to you,” The Betrayer didn’t say anything, but he waved goodbye as well. Allara quickly sped over to her friends, who immediately wrapped her in tight hugs.

“We almost thought you got eaten,” Selene squeezed her tightly, “you guys are dramatic,” she chuckled.

“It is getting late, we should get some rest,” Teras pointed at the rising moon above them. All three of them headed back to their tent and hopped into their sleeping bags. Lucy curled herself next to Allara, the lynx’s soft fur keeping her cozy and warm, “goodnight you guys,”. She tiredly chirped to her friends, they gave tired responses in return, and all three of them slept after a long day.

  
  
  


The next few days were rather long, there was constant fighting with the Legion. The kaldorei spent time fighting them and waking up druids from the slumber. Allara had recently learned that druids would spend hundreds of years sleeping in the Emerald Dream to polish their drudic powers (that tidbit of information gave rise to so many questions she had about kaldorei culture). The scariest thing to happen was something Illidan Stormrage had done. He had defeated a dreadlord named Tichondrius (something she found out from The Betrayer himself). But it ended up destroying lots of land in the forest, an angry Malfurion had sent his brother away for that. A part of Allara felt pity as she witnessed the fighting between the two brothers, it’s never fun to see family fight.

After that situation, things were relatively peaceful, Allara and her friends spent most of their time trying to befriend most of the kaldorei. Teras had the hardest time out of the trio due to the kaldorei’s dislike of magic, but there were still a few members that warmed up to the jolly mage. He had mostly been learning about the various herbs that Kalimdor had, and helping healing any injured members.

Selene spent most of her time fighting demons, a couple members were impressed by the warrior’s fighting ability despite her youth. Though in secret, Selene herself was uncomfortable with the kaldorei’s belief in Elune (who Allara found out was the goddess of the moon). The warrior did not speak of this aloud to not get on the bad side of especially High Priestess Tyrande.

Allara herself had most fun learning about the history of the night elves. She had many more conversations with Fauldron and Nileria, and spent more bonding time with Kyanne.

However a few weeks since the trio entered the night elf camp, there had been a change.

Allara was currently cleaning her lynx’s pelt. Lucy’s fur was covered in bugs and dirt from constant travelling in the forest.

“I wish you’d groom yourself more,” she said to the disgruntled lynx. Lucy replied with a “elves and their fixation on keeping clean,” which offended Allara. She didn’t say anything else, even after Lucy apologized for her harsh comment.

_Just because I’m an elf doesn’t mean I'm fussy and a prissy noble,_ she thought to herself. It was a stereotype of her people-she ignored the dark feeling in her gut when thinking of her lost family, that humans often thought of her. She often heard that statement in Loredaron the most, whenever she visited her sister and her kids.

  
“Hey Cherry! Come over!” her ears perked up, caching Selene’s silvery deep voice, she gave a smile to the sad Lucy and walked over to her friend. But who Selene was also with was what surprised her.

“J-Jaina!?” she was surprised to see her at the kaldorei camp, _and Thrall too?!_ She noted that the Warchief was here as well.

“So uh..this is an awkward story,” Teras (who was next to Selene), shuffled his feet awkwardly, “the same prophet guy who is actually the guardian Medivh in disguise appeared and-”  
“What wait?” her teal and cyan eyes widened.

“I’ll get to that part later, but he got Tyrande to work with both Thrall and Jaina..oh and also we might be in trouble for sneaking off,” he added that last part in an embarrassed tone, and tried to hide under his stitched mage hood.

“Oh joy, we’re grounded for trying to do something productive!” Lucy growled, her tail fur spiking up in anger.

“You three did not have to take matters into your own hands,” Jaina crossed her arms, her voice thick with anger, “I was worried sick that perhaps you were-...” too angry to finish her sentence, she wrapped all three teenagers into a tight hug.  
“You’re all very brave for being so young, you don’t have to fight,” Allara then noticed that Jaina’s grey-blue eyes were barely holding back tears, _we must’ve really made a lot of people worried..including Ziyo…._

“We wanted to help,” Teras mumbled, too upset to carry his voice properly.  
“Yeah,” Selene added, “so we tried befriending the night elves..” Allara realized that her friends were trying to place the blame on themselves, she quickly pulled out of the hug and gathered the strength to reveal the truth.

“It was my idea, Lady Proudmoore,” her voice sounded older when she spoke, “Teras and Selene didn’t have to come along, they choose to..I’m sorry,” she bowed her head in apology and mentally prepared for Jaina to harshly scold her. Only to raise her head and see the mage giving her a sad smile.

“Allara I’m not going to scold you like a child,” she shook her head, “as much as I do not want to, if you three want to help fight the Legion, than I guess you’re allowed too,”

All three smiled, and the moment was peaceful. Only for Teras to ruin it with-

“About that...we may have joined several skirmishes against the Legion already...uh Tyrande’s orders…”  
“YOU WHAT?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was long :/  
> I went back to Allara, I think I like putting that as her name and "Cherry" is the nickname everyone calls her.  
> Selene is such a matchmaker, she noted Ziyo has a crush lol.
> 
> Allara: is sad and alone  
> Selene: Some  
> BODY-  
> (based off a drawing I did on my tumblr, I draw some character art of this there and on my deviantart!)
> 
> "I still miss my family but I’ll take my time to mourn once I defeat the demons who caused their demise,”-evidence that Selene is withholding her grief until she gets to stop the Legion (she blames Arthas as well but the demons are an easier target at the moment)
> 
> Ziyo confessing before his crush goes and do something risky is cute < : )  
> Teras and Selene then tease Allara lol
> 
> Kyanne makes a return! She's such a chill druid.  
> And Tyrande, she didn't trust the humans and orcs because the Warsong clan killed the demigod Cenarius, so she's a bit rude (especially to Teras the mage) atm. 
> 
> Selene: How rude of that priestess to give that comment to Teras. He's the kindest person I know! He wouldn't hurt a fly! Teras is the best-  
> Allara and Teras: We get it Selene!
> 
> Faldron and Nileria are interesting side characters to write, they might show up again in future sequels : D
> 
> Allara trying to relate to Illidan because they both have twin brothers is adorable to write. She's such a sweetheart  
> Speaking of Illidan how in the name of Elune do you write this guy?!..I was "winging it" XD...get it..cuz he has wings..  
> nvm...;-;  
> At the time of this story, Allara is in the 16-17 age range..(Teras and Selene are as well), so compared to the hundred-thousands old kaldorei she's really, really young.
> 
> And all three sides team up at last : )  
> Next up is the Battle of MT Hyjal! Bring your snacks!


	12. Battle of Mount Hyjall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final fight against the Legion begins!

It had been a few days since all three leaders of the groups decided to work together. Soldiers were constantly on watch, the attack against the Legion would be on Mt. Hyjal.

The leader of the Legion Invasion; was Archimonde the Defiler, a creature called an eredar. Allara had some knowledge of the monster, as some night elves talked about the horrors he committed.

It didn’t comfort the high elf that she had to face such a monster. But she would not back out of her choice, and stand with her friends against the demons.

“I’m afraid,” Lucy told her, the lynx’s fur was fluffed in fear the night before the battle.

“Me too Lucy,” Allara agreed with her feline companion, “but I fear loss even more,”.

“The demons took our home away, and the homes of the humans, orcs, even the kaldorei suffered,” a deep sadness glimmered in the lynx’s mint green eyes, “has our luck run out?”.

Allara thought deeply before answering the question, a heavy load of sadness hung in her heart at the thought of home. She daydreamed of the warm autumn forests of Quel’Thalas once more, and her beloved family and friends.

_Her twin brother Taerok, they both wanted to be rangers and were partners; equals, (she never teased him for being the younger twin)._

_Her mother Reyn, a ranger of Quel’Thalas that crafted her first bow she used to hunt predators around Windrunner Village._

_Her father Merledai, a hunter that took her on trips to see the world of the human kingdom, she even stole a kill from him once last year._

_Her second cousin Sylvanas, the Ranger-General, her idol and role model, who didn’t deserve the horrible fate she got at the hands of the Loredaron Prince._

_Talina, Seri, Kriel, Elvia, the people of her village, the people of Quel’Thalas, all either dead, undead, or scarred because of the Scourge. The puppets of the Legion,_  
  
her heart iced with sadness as she pushed the happy memories away, deeper inside to lock them up and keep them safe.

“I know we can win, the kaldorei have fought the demons before,” Allara said to the lynx, “Malfurion’s plan will beat them, and we will help turn the tide,”

“I’m with you Cherry,” Lucy mewed with determination, “those demons are doomed with us on the good side,”  
  
“Now let's get some rest,” nodded the hunter, “we’ll need energy for the morning,”.

  
  


Dawn had arrived, according to the scouts the enemy would arrive today. War was inevitable, the citizens that couldn’t fight were safely kept in a secret camp a few miles away from Nordrassil. Allara found this choice questionable, as the Legion’s target was the World Tree itself, but she somehow found faith in Malfurion’s plan.

The druid would use the power of the World Tree to defeat Archimonde once and for all, the Alliance and Horde had the job of buying time for him. Allara was stationed at the Alliance Base, the blue banners hanging atop the walls.

“Anyone else feeling quite nervous,” Teras spoke up, the mage had drips of sweat pouring down his round face. “I’m less nervous and more hungry for revenge,” Selene retorted, she was sharpening her iron sword, repairing it to full before the fight began.

“Lucy and I are nervous, but at least we’re all fighting together,” Allara added in to try to cheer Teras up.

“According to the last scout patrol, we have about half an hour before the enemy knocks up on our door,” the warrior grimly pointed out, “hope that’s enough time for the weak of heart to gather their courage”.

“Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine today,” Allara sarcastically retorted, Selene stopped her repairs and gave the elf a cold look. “Could you blame me Cherry? We might die today, and if today is my last day, might as well use that humor of mine, it’s better than that ‘victory or death’ spiel orcs give,” the look in her brown eyes were serious.

“That reminds me,” Teras spoke up, still covered in sweat, he’s either scared out of his mind or it’s too hot for him, “Cherry, have you spoken to Ziyo at all?”  
  


“..What?...” suddenly Allara felt her face turning beet red with embarrassment, “it’s none of your business! Besides I got waved into the Alliance Base, so I haven’t gotten a chance at all,”

“That’s sad,” Selene turned back to her repairs, “I can tell from the blush on your face you might have some feelings for that mischievous troll,” 

“Mischievous? Really?” Lucy snorted, the lynx had been quiet all morning, “she barely knows him,”. Selene sighed, “I don’t have to be a druid to know that was a remark Lucy said,”.

“You’re right Selene, I do share some feelings with Ziyo, I’ve grown to love him,” Allara confessed, hearing the surprised gasps of her human comrades, “but some Alliance troops will go to the Horde camp after retreating from the base, and I’m one of those troops since I work well with the Horde,” 

“We’ll go with you,” Teras placed a hand on her shoulder, “we’re your friends, and we support you,”.

“Yeah,” Selene smirked, “and seeing a kiss would be good entertain-”  
  
“Stand for battle! The Legion are here!” screamed the watchmen, all three teenagers readied their weapons. It was time for survival, they couldn't cower in fear anymore. The fight for survival had begun.

  
  
  


“You ready Tawney?” Allara asked, tightening the saddle straps. Tawney nodded, the wyvern was wearing heavy metallic armour covered in lavender paint to protect herself. Allara got to choose the paint color, she thought of purple as it was the blue Alliance colors and red Horde colors that would make a united purple. She thought the symbolism was cute so it was the color picked.

“Ready for battle,” Tawney growled, and the wyvern took off in the air. Above the Alliance camp, Allara could see the armies of undead minions commanded by demons. _Was this what my people saw before murdered?_ A panicked thought appeared, but she would not be frightened.

Drawing her courage, Allara aimed her bow at the center of the army and fired. She concentrated on what little magic abilities she had to amp up the attack. The arrow exploded and several undead were blown away, giving the archers down below an opportunity to start firing.

“Good shot lad!” a dwarf gryphon rider called out, she gave him a smile and continued firing. There were other gryphons airborne, firing magic, arrows, and whatever they could use. But Allara was the only one riding a purple armored wyvern.

A faint shrieking sound caught her ears. She twitched, focusing on the noise, and realized the high pitched wailing was coming closer. Looking down Allara gasped as strange ghostly undead from below began floating towards them.

“Enemy flying above!” she cried, the ghostly undead was now in front of her. The wailing sound coming from it’s wispy lips, the ringing caused her to cover her ears in pain. There was a bolt of ice thrown at the being, the creature let out one more wail before dissolving into nothingness.

  
“You alright Allara?” Teras, riding a snow white gryphon flew over. “Yeah..just gotta wait for the ringing to stop, what was that thing?” Teras frowned, “it was a banshee,”.

“Oh..” Allara’s ears dropped, she heard of banshees before when- “Is that..what my cousin was turned into?”.

“Yeah, she was turned into one,” Teras slowly nodded, “but I don’t think any of these banshees are her,”. The elf sighed, “not making me feel any better Teras _thil_ ,” she hadn’t called him by his full name ever, so it felt odd on her tongue. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Teras rubbed the back of his head in an awkward manner, “we should keep focusing on below,” Allara nodded, and their small conversation was over. 

After about an hour of fighting and firing arrows, the undead forces began to dwindle. The gryphon riders cheered with joy as the Alliance starting hacking the undead with much easier effort. But the cheering stopped when a chilling presence filled the air. Something powerful is coming, Allara realized, she brought Tawney back to the ground and stood on the guard towers to scan the area. 

The chilling aura intensified when a pale skeletal figure floated from behind the hills. It’s eyes were a cold yellow, the air freezing around the creature. “Okay what in the name of belore is that?!” Allara pointed to the skeletal creature. 

“It’s a lich! A very powerful undead being!” Selene called from below, the warrior had a few bloody bruises from fighting below, but was still in good shape, “we’re in trouble!”  
“Fools,” the lich spoke, “I the mighty Rage Winterchill shall be your end,” no amount of magic could hide the arrogance in the lich’s voice. “The Legions conquest has begun! Let none survive! Succumb to your demise!” the lich then began firing frosty spells at the soldiers. Many were lucky enough to avoid the attack but the unlucky few were frozen to death. 

“Oh you are so going down,” Allara declared, she whistled for her companion, Lucy to come out. The lynx jumped from the wall and onto the land, swiping at the lich’s skeletal figure. The Alliance slowly got back up after the sudden attack, soldiers and mages attacked the creature. 

The fight was slow and painful, but eventually the lich was killed.  
“You may have won this battle! But not...the war!” were the last words it ever spoke, before falling to the ground and crumbling.   
“Down goes the lich!” Allara cried in joy, then clutched her arm as it stung with pain, “ow…” one of the lich’s frozen attacks clipped her arm. But she was still good to continue fighting, a little cloth wrapping would do the trick.

After awhile of continuous fighting from the undead and another giant enemy brought down (a nathrezim by the name of Anetheron), the demons had their second wind. More demonic forces were flowing into the ranks, Allara was getting exhausted fighting the enemy. Archimonde the Defiler must be approaching, it would be why there were more demons in the fight and the larger number of enemies. 

“Retreat! Gather the wounded and head for the safe camp! Those going to the Horde Encampment stay close to me!” Jaina called out the orders, dozens of soldiers began gathering their wounded brethren and fled. Mages that went with the retreat used what was left of their magic to teleport to the secret camp. Allara and Teras, both exhausted and wounded, carried each other to Jaina. Determined, the rest of the soldiers that stayed behind fought with courage. Allara’s arms were tired from firing arrows, all she could do was give commands to Lucy. The lynx was fighting with valor, easily dodging attacks and clawing the enemy to shreds. But then, there were heavy shakes in the earth, the demons stepped back as a colossal figure came from behind the hills.

Archimonde the Defiler had arrived. The creature was an ash blue color, with green veins of fel energy coursing through. The eyes were dark green and soulless, devoid of anything good. Allara almost fainted at the sight of the giant being, “we’re dead,” Selene whispered, fear in her voice as she voiced the elf’s thoughts.

Jaina Proudmoore, apparently unfazed by the eredar creature, boldly stepped forward.

“You are brave to stand against me little mage,” Archimonde spoke in an arrogant and cruel voice. “If only your people were more bolder, destroying their wretched kingdoms would be more fun,” she saw red as the demon gave a cackle, the monster finding joy of all things in genocide.

Jaina smirked, activating her teleportation spell, “is talking the only things you demons do?”. Her magic glowed, and they were all teleported to the Horde Encampment. A sigh of relief as Allara recognized the familiar red color.

From a distance, Archimonde let out an angry cry, “He’ll be here in a few hours, and his army in one or two,” Jaina noted. “Get some rest soldiers, I’ll report to the kaldorei that the Archimonde destroyed the base,” and she teleported again. 

Allara didn’t have time for rest currently, she had something to do.

“Hey Ziyo? You here?” She had asked Haru and Narro where the troll could be, and the Wildwater brothers pointed her to the camp next to the wall.

“Ah! Cherry!” the troll came into view, his raptor surprisingly not by his side, “yer alive!”  
“I try to be,” she chuckled, “not everyone is unfortunately,” Ziyo patted her shoulder in comfort, “dats da hardship of war, at least dey died defending da world from dem demon scum,”.

“Speaking of demons, I got a good look at Archimonde, he’s the size of a mountain,” Allara pointed out, “by de loa, dat Stormrage’s plan better be good den,” the troll’s jaw dropped. 

“I didn’t come by the way to let you know what the Defiler looked like,” Allara uneasily began, “it’s about-”  
“Ah, de confession,” Ziyo’s blue eyes were round with anxiety, “I won’t blame ya if yer just looking for a friend an not a partner,”. She shook her head, “no, I do love you Ziyo, in a romantic way, but I’ve never been in a relationship with anymore before,”.

“Yer pullin ma leg dere,” Ziyo joked, when she didn’t answer, the troll was clearly surprised, “really? Yer such a lovely girl, I thought dat de boys an girls of your village would be begging for your affection,”.

“While some of the male and female elves of my village are beautiful, and would probably make a good partner if their looks matched their personality..which doesn’t happen most of the time,” Ziyo chuckled at humor in her words. “I was just afraid of being forced to do something I’m not comfortable with,”  
“I understand Allara,” Ziyo’s voice was soft, gentle as he held her hands, “we can go at yer pace, I don’t want ya ta do somedin yer not ready for,”.

She smiled, “thank you Ziyo, I love you,” with great courage, she pressed her lips on Ziyo's for a kiss. It was a peaceful moment between the two.

“I love ya too Allara,” Ziyo smiled, “lets both survive da Legion together,”.   
“More like I have to save your life a dozen times,” she teased, Ziyo gave a joyous laugh at the joke, “Well mah chances of survival are better with a great hunter at mah side,”. The two of them spent the time before the enemy knocked on their door together. Sharing stories of their childhood and telling each other jokes. 

Allara felt better than she had in weeks since hearing the awful news about Quel’Thalas. By the time the undead demon army showed up at the Horde Encampment. She felt confident standing by Ziyo, her friend and now her lover.

“So how’s your wyvern?” Ziyo asked in between them pelting the enemy with arrows, “Tawney’s fine, she went with most of the soldiers to the safe camp,”. The troll gave a relieved smile, “dats good dat she’s safe, ya don’t need any more sorrow in yer life,”.

“Sorrow is a part of all life,” Allara added in a somber tone, “it just happened to me sooner, I’ve experienced sorrow since I was ten,”.

There was a pit lord, same breed as Mannaroth, named Azgalor at the gates. The orcs, who’s entire race were corrupted by the blood of a pit lord, were ganging up on the demon. Most of the other soldiers stood back and watched the orcs take out some of their hate for demons on the pit lord. Which gave her and Ziyo a break from shooting arrows.

“I have a big sister named Verea, she’s technically my half-sister since she has a different father than mine,”. Ziyo blinked in surprise, I guess he didn’t think I had any other siblings,. “What happened to her father?”. 

Allara was hesitant to answer, “the uh..Old Horde..the one that was still working with demons, not this Horde! But Verea and my mom don't like orcs or trolls because of the actions of them,”.

“I can understand dat anger,” Ziyo lamented, “my mother was killed by humans, but yer human friends are nothdin like dose monsters, ah still despise humankind, but not all of dem,”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Allara wrapped her arms around his torso in a comforting hug, “. “I know how it felt to lose family, when I heard that one of Verea’s children drowned,”.

“Your sistah had children, and one of dem drowned?” Ziyo wrapped his arms around her torso into a hug as well. “Her oldest son Tanven, he and his siblings went exploring and fell into the flooded river, Ralden and Velarise got out but he didn’t,”. 

The two of them didn’t speak for awhile, they kept comforting each other over their losses over the sound of orcs serving a vicious beatdown at the pit lord. 

Both of them felt safe in the arms of their lover in the fight against the demons, and both would pray that they both make it out alive.

  
  


After a few more hours of fighting, defeating another giant demon by the name of Kaz’rogal (Allara had zilch idea on what kind of species it was) and snack breaks, Archimonde reared his ugly, ugly head around the mountain. A scout sounded the retreat and everyone either teleported or ran away to the either the safe camp or the night elf camp. Thrall and a few brave warriors (Ziyo included to the elf’s worry he’d get crushed), stayed behind to stall. 

The night elf camp was crowded with members from both the Alliance and Horde, the infirmary was packed with wounded. Allara managed to find Selene and Teras in the crowd, the three huddled together by the wall.

“So, how did your conversation with Ziyo go?” Teras asked, Selene gave him a glare but she was curious too. “It went swell, we both care for each other and hopefully if we live through this, we’ll go on a few dates,” both humans smiled and made cute sounds at the news.

“I’m happy for you Cherry, you deserve the world,” Teras smiled, “though hopefully the world is still in good shape after this mess,”.

“I’m so proud of you two, picking up my sense of humor,” Selene smiled, she hadn’t smiled often so it was good to see her happy.

Someone entered the crowded building and gave a report of what happened to Thrall and the other warriors, Allara gave her full attention to the man. They were all fine, just a bit beat up and Archimonde was on his way to the World Tree very soon.

“He’s so cocky he’s going with not as many troops as before, and is so confident he won’t see his demise coming the moment he makes contact with the World Tree,” that was Kyanne who spoke, the druid was using her healing magic on the entire room. Allara felt her bruises and wounds healing and her spent energy restored, “now is the time to be brave,”.

  
  


The sun was setting by the time the Legion arrived under the World Tree roots. Allara was fighting beside her friends against the demons. Selene, Teras, Narro, and Haru. She wasn’t nearby Ziyo, the troll choose to fight by his Darkspear friends, but his raptor Scarfang fought alongside Lucy. She could see Fang, the wolf now without an owner, fighting with reckless courage, taking his anger out on the demons that ruined the life of Go'shar. A few footsteps away was Kyanne. The druid transformed into a bear form, her large claws tearing at the demons. Allara even recognized the druid Faldron and the priest Nileria fighting alongside fellow kaldorei.

“How long until we have to keep fighting?” Allara turned to Teras, the mage fired another arcane bolt at a flying demon.

“Well until Archimonde shows up, but he’s not going to show up anytime soon,” the mage replied, “not like he’ll appear if we say his name,”.

The universe at that moment decided to prove Teras wrong, the hauntingly familiar footsteps of the Defiler shook the earth around them. Allara could see the ash-grey face of the giant eredar stomping up the hill.

“Damn it Teras!” Selene swore, cutting down two demons with a single slash of her blade. The retreat was sounded, everyone tried making a run for safety while cutting down demons in their path. Allara watched in horror as an unlucky kaldorei was grabbed by demon hands and his pained screams were his last sounds. But the group were even unluckier as Archimonde was several footsteps away and they weren’t even close to safety.

“Fellow mages! Use your remaining power and teleport us all to safety!” Teras cried out, channeling what little magic he had in his veins. 

Archimonde glared down at all of them, the glare in the eredar’s fel green eyes sent shivers down her spine. “C’mon Teras,” Lucy curled herself against Allara’s shivering body, “just a few more moments,”.

Allara was afraid in that short amount of time, she was standing in front of a millennia old being that killed billions, and created the Scourge that killed her home. It was as if death was giving her a menacing smile before killing her. The mages then finished charging up, and they teleported them all away from Archimonde. They were all now standing in the safe camp, where the World Tree and Archimonde was a distance away.

“We’re alive!” someone exclaimed, causing everyone else to scream in joy. Allara sagged to the ground in relief, “Oh thank the titans,”.

Everyone in the safe camp, soldiers, citizens, and wounded alike. Were waiting in anticipation for Malfurion’s plan to work. With no more obstacles, Archimonde began climbing Nordrassil. Then, there was the sound of a horn being blown. The trees shook, blue wisps flew from them. They surrounded the World Tree, they surrounded Archimonde. The Defiler howled in pain from the wisps power, Archimonde lost his grip on Nordrassil. Before combusting into flames, Allara shielded her eyes from the flash, when the light faded, Archimonde was gone. The rest of the demons were blown up from the attack. 

“We won!” everyone cheered, there was a round of shouting and screaming and sighs of relief. Teras pulled Allara and Selene into a tough group hug. When she was able to squeeze out, the hunter gave a soft hug to Lucy.  
“We did it Lucy, we won,” she said through tears. While she survived this battle, her people did not with the Scourge. It was bittersweet, in her words. The demons may be gone, but the Scourge was still on Azeroth, a battle for another day. Lucy somehow understood what she was thinking. And licked her tears off her cheeks.  
“We’ll be okay now,” Lucy purred, curling her soft, fluffy body around the elf.

The two of them had time to recover, now that the Legion was gone. Time to heal.

The Alliance and Horde had won, and Allara now had to choose which side to join.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo! *kazoo noises* no more Legion!  
> Well until like...several expansions later, but now all I have to do is post the epilouge!  
> This series will begin and end with the Legion's downfall btw, so theres plenty of expansions to go,


	13. An Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allara makes a choice, Alliance or Horde?

“How hard is this decision?”

“Very, very, hard Ziyo!”  
“Den coin toss it,”

“Not helping!”  
  


It had been half a week since Archimonde was defeated and Allara had yet to make up her mind on which faction to choose. 

Thrall was a good Warchief, and she had many friends in the Horde. While the old Horde caused many scars to her people and there was a conflict with trolls in the past. Thrall’s Horde was more loving and was full of various races working together to survive and protect each other. A good match for the adventure loving, family-bonded elf.

Jaina was the leader of the human expedition and a family friend to Allara. Her two closest friends Teras and Selene were close with the mage as well. Her people were part of the original Alliance, and she knew plenty about the human kingdoms and other allied races. The Alliance worked together to protect their people from outside threats, a goal noble enough for her.

It was driving her insane which side she wanted to choose. And Thrall and Jaina were not helping. While both leaders had become good friends when working together, they also tried persuading her to pick one side over the other. 

“I just don’t know what to do,” Allara buried her face in Lucy’s red fur, “this is so frustrating,”.

“I thought dat joinin da Horde was temporary,” Ziyo pointed out, “ya told me dis, remember?”.

“Yes, but I was amazed on how nice everyone was, and while my people were part of the Alliance, they’re gone themselves,” she wiped away a tear. “Some of them might be alive, but not my parents, not my cousin,” Allara hugged her knees, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Allara,” Ziyo wrapped her into a hug, her sadness melting in his warm embrace “whatevah ya choose, I still love yah, and yer always welcome in mah home,”. 

“Thanks Ziyo,” she returned the hug, “I just wish I didn’t have…” an idea formed in her head.

“You didn’t have tah what?” Ziyo questioned, his brow furrowed in confusion.

  
“Ziyo you gave me an idea!”  
  


_The next day_

“So I’ve made my choice,” Allara declared, she was standing in front of Jaina and Thrall, the two anticipating what her choice was. It was early in the afternoon, Allara had written them a letter yesterday declaring she made her choice and she would tell them both at her tent.   
“So, you’ve decided?” Thrall questioned, she nodded.

“I’ve decided…to pick none!”  
“WHAT?!” both Jaina and Thrall exclaimed, their blue eyes widened in shock.

“I like both factions enough, so I don’t want to align with just one,” she explained, jeez I could’ve delivered that better. 

“Both factions have a good side, and both have a bad side,” she turned to Thrall, “While the Horde is more kinder in your reign, it was….bloodthirsty in the past,”.

“And the Alliance,” she turned to Jaina, “is honorable and noble, but also racist and cruel in some parts,”.   
“I’ve seen the good sides of both parts, and I don’t want to become the enemy of one or the other,”.

“You make a good argument!” Lucy mewed from the sidelines, both leaders gave an odd look at the lynx. “Lucy agrees with me,” Allara awkwardly explained.

“Well, if being a free spirit is your path, then you have a right to pursue that path,” Thrall hummed in agreement, “I hope your choice does affect you negatively later on,”.

“And if you need anyone to talk to, my door is always open Allara,” Jaina warmly smiled, the elf couldn’t help but hug the mage. Jaina was a friend of her cousin, and perhaps one of the last things that she’ll remember of her.

“Though Allara, what are you going to do now that you’ve made your choice?” Thrall questioned.  
“Glad you asked!” she gestured for Lucy to come over, “I think I’ll travel Kalimdor, adventure a bit, take some time to heal,”. Before leaving the building she gave a last glance at the two leaders, “I’ll probably write, and visit, but when I come back, I wanna help folk of both sides,” without waiting for a response from either of them. Allara left to go pack her things.

“So you’re leaving?” she was packing the last of her things and packing Tawney’s saddles, when Teras and Selene walked up to her. “Yes,” she turned to the two, “but I’ll write,”,

“Make sure you give your boyfriend a kiss before you leave,” Teras teases, Selene sighed and smacked the mage on the arm, “ow!”.

“Oh don’t worry Teras, I already talked to him this morning about my choice,” she explained, her cheeks turning red from the tease, “I’m curious what you both are gonna do,”.

“Probably chill with Jaina,” Selene shrugged, “maybe visit the Horde, they’re pretty cool, and do some healing for myself,". Both of them hugged the warrior tighty, Allara wasn't the only one who had lost her family and home because of the demons. Selene had lost her home Stratholme when many citizens consumed plagued grain, it was made worse by the reckless actions of Lordareon's Crown Prince. "I'm fine guys," Teras and Allara let go of the hug, "I don't need to be babied constantly, some days will be good, and some bad,".

“I envy your courage,” Teras rubbed his injured shoulder, “I’m gonna do some research, there’s some cool stuff in the marshlands I wanna look into!”  
  
“Stay safe out there,” Selene pulled the elf into a hug, it was the first hug the warrior ever gave Allara. “I will,” she promised. She called for Lucy, the lynx taking her place on her lap as she mounted Tawney.

With the signal, the wyvern took off into the air, in the distance. Allara could see Teras, Selene, and many other of her new friends waving farewell, she could spot Haru, Norro, Kyanne, Faldron, and Nileria. _Go'shar should be here,_ Allara sadly lamented about the older orc. Go'shar and his wolf Fang were the first Horde faces she met, the orc had never stopped fighting the demon's bloodlust in in veins. If only he lived long enough when Grommash sacrificed himself to defeat Mannoroth and end the curse, she would one day keep her promise to tell his daughter Shara his last words. Taking one last look at the farewell party, she saw Ziyo blowing her a kiss in the wind, with his raptor Scarfang giving him a quizzical look. She didn't know if he could see, but Allara made a gesture of 'catching' the kiss, and planting it on her lips. Smiling, she turned her head away one last time and told Tawney to fly upwards.

“Let’s see if Kalimdor is just elf forests or hot desert, huh Lucy?” Allara turned to the lynx, who was enjoying the view in the clouds.  
“Maybe we’ll find flying cats,” the lynx chuckled.

Allara had started her journey with a hearthstone and a mission, but came out with many friends, loss, and love. There was a whole land to explore. But when she returned, she would help others in need, either Alliance, Horde, or another group that was good and stop those who wanted to destroy the world like the Legion.

Allara would one day be a hero, with her best friend Lucy by her side, they would adventure together.

And make many more friends.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's "A World of Warcraft" in a rap! My first time writing a WoW fanfic so it could use work.  
> It's going to be awhile before the sequel so stay tuned for that! There's still some questions like, how long can Allara stay neutral? What's going to happen when she runs into the Forsaken? Will her and Ziyo's relationship last? And what role to Selene and Teras play in the future? So many questions that will be answered eventually!  
> Have a "cat"astic day and stay tuned for "Azeroth and Outland Adventures!"


	14. Series is cancelled, everybody go home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry

Allara: Hi guys! So if you guys were hoping for a sequel anytime soon....well...  
Selene: Your chances were crushed as much as Saurfang when-  
Teras: SELENE THAT'S SPOILERS  
Selene: Not my fault the writers are horrible  
Allara: So um...long story short but you guys can guess why..but the series has been cancelled due to a multitude of reasons  
Selene: Take your pick..from no longer interested to not wanting to support a corrupt franchise   
Teras: SELENE!  
Selene: What?! Everyone on this site agrees that the latest expansion is a mockery! In terms of story, the art/music team are fine  
Teras: *sigh*, you're right  
Allara: Sorry guys if you liked the story..but unfortunately this happened..but while our tale is cut short, maybe you can find inspiration!  
Teras: As long as you give credit!!  
Selene: Please don't, I am thankful I don't have to go through the Wrathgate anytime soon  
Allara and Teras: SELENE! SPOILERS!  
Selene: YOU CAN'T BOSS ME AROUND ANYMORE  
*The two of them start chasing the warrior, then Allara's lynx walks up to the stage*  
Lucy: Sorry, the series has been cancelled : (, don't expect it to come back..  
Lucy: We hope you enjoyed A World of Warcraft however, as it tried to be a bit more lighthearted and less rated M than other warcraft stories  
Selene in the distance: STOP WRITING (Censored) YOU WEIRDOS  
Allara: SELENE!  
Teras: NO OFFENSE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *peace sign* I'm outta this joint  
> and no offense to the Warcraft fics on A03..but a lot of them are too rated M for my taste,


End file.
